Should You Be Looking for a Shelby County, Tennessee Family Lawyer?
Should you be looking for a Shelby County TN family lawyer?
With the pace and excitement of the holidays, you may be putting your search for a Shelby County, Tennessee, family lawyer on hold at least until the New Year. When the time comes to focus on the legal aspects of family ties, though, what qualities should you look for in an attorney? What kinds of questions should you ask at the initial lawyer consultation? How can you prepare to pay for attorney divorce services?
Be Confident in the Representation By Asking Core Questions
By necessity, you will be putting a lot of faith in your lawyer’s abilities about some very personal concerns. Find the right legal professional to represent you, someone who will engender the confidence you need and deserve as the domestic relations matter unfolds.
1. Has the attorney been sanctioned for unethical behavior?
If you haven’t had reason to hire an attorney in the past, you may need to learn a little about lawyers in general. To begin, attorneys, including family lawyers, must be active members of the Tennessee Bar Association to practice law in this state. Part of being an active bar member is compliance with the rules of professional conduct.
Attorneys who violate those ethical rules may be sanctioned by the bar association. (With serious violations, such as a felony crime conviction, a lawyer may be permanently disbarred from law practice in Tennessee.) When you meet with a family lawyer to discuss your divorce, paternity action, alimony or child support modification, or child custody case, ask whether that attorney has ever been sanctioned for an ethical violation. If so, quickly follow with a question about the circumstances and the measures taken before you decide to hire.
2. How much does the attorney charge?
Unless the lawyer is willing to represent you pro bono (it wont’ hurt to ask), you will need to create a budget to manage the upcoming attorney fees and legal costs. To budget the cost of your divorce, ask what the attorney charges per hour and per task (for example, depositions of witnesses). Although some lawyers may offer a low flat fee for simple divorces, flat fee arrangements are typically restricted to uncontested cases with no minor children; the parties are in total agreement on all of the issues. All it takes is one disputed matter for the case to become contested (for instance, a disagreement over who stays in the marital home or the allocation of a car loan).
Find out what the retainer fee is, if any, so you know how much money is required just to get the attorney started on your family law case. Ask questions about the attorney’s regular hourly rate and any specific rates for court appearances, depositions, extraordinary hearings, and the like. Question the attorney about staff service charges, too, including photocopying, faxing, and collating documents. If the attorney has a paralegal, or legal assistant, ask about the scope of that individual’s responsibilities as those duties pertain to your case. Find out what the paralegal hourly rate is as well.
What is the attorney’s best estimate of the total cost should all go as anticipated? (Be mindful that any case, no matter how simple or straightforward, can take an unexpected turn at anytime.) Ask how often you will receive statements, how many days you have to make a timely payment, and what you should do if there is a billing dispute.
3. Does the attorney fully appreciate the complexity of your case?
If you and your spouse have complex marital properties, then consider a family lawyer who has substantial experience with forensic accounting and high asset cases. In every divorce, the court is required to equitably divide the couple’s property and allocate their debts. Placing values on the parties’ business interests, pensions, retirement plans, royalties, real estate holdings, rare collections, and so on, can be a very complicated process requiring expert analysis.
With some divorces, one spouse may attempt to wrongfully conceal assets from the other party to obtain an unfair financial edge. To ensure that the entire financial picture is accurately disclosed and fairly placed on the negotiating table, a lifestyle analysis may be necessary. Have you have been married for many years or acquired substantial assets during your marriage? You may want to take a few minutes now to read over the Lifestyle Analysis in Tennessee Divorce & Family Law.
Ultimately, you should be as objective as possible and hire the experienced family lawyer who is right for you.
Talk to a Family Lawyer in Memphis, Tenn.
The Miles Mason Family Law Group handles Tennessee divorce, child support, alimony, child custody, and parent relocation. Download our free e-Book, Your First Steps: 7 Steps Planning Your Tennessee Divorce. A Memphis divorce lawyer from the Miles Mason Family Law Group can help. To schedule your confidential consultation, call us today at (901) 683-1850.
