Indiana divorce law is complicated, and all couples can expect to face their own challenges during the proceedings. Although every divorce situation is different, there are a few common questions many people have about what they should expect from the process and whether divorce lawyers Indianapolis are necessary.
How Much Will My Divorce Cost?
Your Indianapolis divorce attorneys will not be able to give you an exact figure regarding the total cost of the divorce, but after assessing your case, the attorney should be able to provide you with a reasonable range of what you should spend. More difficult divorce proceedings will cost more because the divorce negotiations tend to last longer. This can result in higher fees for the divorce. Usually, after adding court costs and attorney’s fees to the total, most people can expect to spend at least a couple thousand dollars on their divorce.
How Long Do Divorce Proceedings Last?
Once all of the divorce paperwork is filed, you generally must wait a period of time for the divorce to be finalized. The total duration of the waiting period will ultimately depend on the statutory residence requirements, the court’s current caseload, and the judges availability, because you need a family court judge to sign the final Divorce Decree of Dissolution.
Do You Need to Hire a Divorce Attorney?
It is not always necessary to hire an attorney to file for divorce. However, doing so will ultimately work in your favor. If you are concerned about the cost of an Indianapolis divorce attorney, it is important to keep in mind that hiring a lawyer pays for itself. A seasoned attorney will know how to properly protect your financial interests. Hiring a divorce lawyer can ensure that you will more than likely receive a much larger settlement in the proceedings than you would have been able to negotiate on your own.
Do You Get Emotionally Involved in Your Case?
This is a great question. On one hand, you want an attorney who can be objective, level headed, and help reduce the emotional tension in your case. On the other hand you want an attorney who will believe in you and your case.
Are You a Trial Attorney or a Transactional Attorney?
The reality is that divorce attorneys need to both be able to “get the deal done” and go to trial and win when a resolution cannot be reached. Divorce attorneys are both transactional and trial lawyers.
Is it Better for a Divorce Case to Settle or Go to Trial?
For the vast majority of people, the best divorce cases are the ones that are settled by agreement. For a minority of cases, especially ones with domestic violence or other issues of impaired parenting, generally speaking, a trial is the best course of action.
Do You See Going to Court as a Last Resort or as a First Resort?
Most cases should start in a settlement posture, going into a litigation phase only if settlement fails. However, some emergency cases will need swift and precise litigation at the onset of the case.
What Percentage of Your Cases are Divorce-Related Cases?
What’s the percentage or the breakdown of the current caseload that the attorney handles? How many of their cases are divorce-related versus estate planning, DCS or other family law matters?
Do You Feel You Carry a Manageable Caseload?
Depending on the type of case that you have you may want an attorney that handles a smaller caseload but devotes more time and energy per case. What type of caseload is your potential divorce attorney managing? Does it appear that the amount of cases that the lawyer has is taking their practice over?
How Many Cases Do You Currently Have?
All practices are different so that there isn’t a right or wrong answer, but you can usually get a good gauge from this question as to whether or not the attorney feels overwhelmed or if the attorney feels that he has the resources available to give your case the proper amount of attention.
How Many High-Conflict Cases Do You Have?
The reality of life is that no family attorney can handle a caseload that is comprised of 100% high-conflict cases. High-conflict cases tend to gobble up a disproportionate amount of time, energy, and emotional resources, all needed to win a potential high-conflict case, yours.
