Hiring a Divorce Law Firm
When it comes to divorce, if you have a controlling spouse, a partner who has something to hide or something that he or she wants, children who are going to be used as pawns in the divorce process, or you've been served divorce papers out of the blue, you need to retain legal counsel to protect you and your children. Additionally, if your spouse is on a mission to be as aggressive as possible, and if he or she finds a lawyer like that, you must fight fire with fire, or you'll lose everything.
Men and women have different needs when it comes to hiring a divorce attorney. If you are about to file for divorce, and you expect to be faced with a spouse who insists you never worked or contributed to the marriage…or you're a hard-working income producer who'll likely be faced with a stay-at-home spouse who expects to be paid child support and alimony forever, then you will need a lawyer who is first and foremost trial ready. Shrewd helps too. Those are the types of attorneys you can expect to find at The Massachusetts Family Law Group.
The Role of a Divorce Attorney
To help you understand how the Massachusetts Probate & Family Court works, our Founder and Lead Attorney Lucas M. compares it to the game of football. The game of football is a complicated business but can be easily understood by breaking the game down into individual elements. In much the same way, the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court has complicated rules and information that can be broken down into simple and easily understood elements – in order to score more points and, ultimately, win the game.
For instance, just as there are 4 quarters to a game, 10 yards to a first down, 6 points to a touchdown, and so on…there are sessions with the probation department, financial statements, discovery tools, well-written pre-trial memos, and the "best interest of the child" standards. Football begins with one team being favored by a point spread. In divorce cases, we start by assuming our opponent is heavily favored, and become zealous advocates and tireless crusaders for our client in order to win the upset.
If your spouse has hired a lawyer, you need to hire one quickly. If you don't, you are an amateur playing against professionals. In some cases, your spouse may encourage you to go to mediation, or work with one attorney in order to work collaboratively toward an uncontested divorce.
That is a big mistake. Learn about the pitfalls of mediation on our South Shore/South Coast/Cape Cod website — .
Unless you explicitly trust your spouse, the process is designed to be adversarial, and there is no way a lawyer can fairly represent you both. The odds are that your spouse has something to hide or something he or she wants, and they know that if you hire a lawyer it will be more difficult to achieve that goal. Depending on your circumstances, any lawyer who is on your team should be doing one of two things – either earning you more that what you are paying in legal fees or preventing you from paying (or having to give up assets) more than those fees.
WARNING! Do Not Attempt to Represent Yourself
The courts in Massachusetts are mandated to hold pro-se litigants to the same standards as attorneys. Everyone is charged with knowing the law – whether they actually do or not. Whatever stage you are at in the divorce process, contact our firm. For specific matters where you'd rather to speak with our Founder and Lead Attorney, Lucas M. , call him at (800) 331-Lucas. That is his direct line, and it rights right at his desk.
Hourly Rates and Legal Fees
Not all firms work the same, but each of our attorneys handle contested divorce matters at very reasonable rates, from $250 to $325 per hour. Most divorces can be commenced with initial retainers starting anywhere from $3,000 on the low side to $15,000 on the high side.
Q: How much does the average divorce cost?
A: Most divorces range from $5,000 to $15,000; however, they can become extremely costly if certain factors are present.
Q: What separate a $5,000 divorce from a $15,000 divorce?
A: Simple – complex issues and problems. For example, drawn-out custody battles, domestic abuse, property disputes, and discovery related to self-employed spouses, business owners, or non-W2 employees.
Q: Is there anything a client can do to keep legal fees down?
A: Yes, and our top-five list of how to save on legal fees include the following:
- Negotiate out-of-court if and when you and your attorney recognize that the difference between the perfect settlement and the current offer with your spouse is less than the additional cost of litigating the matter. This never applies to issues relating to the children, as our attorneys would never put a price tag on what's in their best interest. What does get out of hand at times is when parents fight (and proclaim they'll go all the way to trial) on small parenting issues such as whether or not the non-custodial spouse gets to extend his or her weekend parenting time with the children on those Mondays during the school year which are deemed to be holidays, or whether vacation weeks begin on Saturday of the first weekend, or the Monday of the school week. We do what we can to counsel clients on letting the smaller issues go for the sake of the children's best interests.
- Hold-off on calling or e-mailing your lawyer with each individual question. Wait until you have four or five at a time. This creates efficiency, and keeps your matter more efficient.
- From the beginning of the client-lawyer relationship, be thorough in providing your Massachusetts Divorce Lawyer with all the information needed to help you prevail in your current court action. The more thorough you are at the start, the less time he or she will have to spend in tracking down important documentation.
- Hire a Massachusetts Divorce Law Firm in areas outside of downtown Boston. Since the firm won't have high rent, those savings will be passed on to you.
- Hire a Massachusetts Divorce Attorney who is willing to meet you after work or over the weekend. This way, you won't have to take time off work and lose hours or end-up less productive.
A Special Note to Business Owners and Corporate Executives
You are well-advised to pay your attorney fees personally. While it is tempting to pay legal fees from your business, don't. Most divorce costs are not tax deductible, and paying the expenses from your business may make it possible for your spouse's attorney to claim you co-mingle assets and scrutinize its records in detail.
Aggressive Representation by the Boston Area's Largest Divorce and Family Law Firm
The Boston family law attorneys and Cambridge divorce lawyers from The Massachusetts Family Law Group handle all aspects of divorce and custody matters and offer specifically-tailored guidance pertaining to divorce for high-income earners and the independently wealthy. Because of our firm's reputation for displaying top-notch skills in negotiation and litigation, high net worth client find our counsel invaluable.
Clients often tell us how working with us is like holding a roadmap through the complex maze of each of the Massachusetts Probate and Family Courts. We help our clients grasp issues, set out a clear court strategy, counter their spouse's dirty tricks, master the skills of testifying, handle setbacks and adversity, and proceed effectively in contested matters.
Call us at (800) 763-1030 or e-mail us for an appointment at any of our local offices.
No matter which path you take, don't make the mistake of trying to save on legal fees and represent yourself. To learn about Do-It-Yourself Divorce Dangers, go here.
