Family Attorney

Ignorance is the most common trap in the business of divorce, so becoming informed is crucial. However, friends, relatives and “common knowledge” are the worst and most expensive sources of advice. Use these for moral support, but when they give you advice, just smile and say “Thank You” but do not take it seriously. If you didn’t get the advice from a reputable book or an attorney, don’t trust it! Just because you like or trust someone doesn’t make them right. And if you take bad advice, who pays the price? You do–perhaps for the rest of your life.

Millions of people have done their own divorces since self-help law was established in 1971, so you can probably do it too. If you do need an attorney for help, one of your biggest problems is going to be finding the right one. Not just any lawyer will do.

If you have trouble with some part of doing your own divorce, or if you and your spouse are trying to work out terms and get stuck, or if you need more information or legal advice, or for any reason at all, you may decide that a little time spent in conference with an attorney would be worthwhile. Instead of having a lawyer do the whole job, you might have him or her help you with just part of it. Some attorneys might not be willing to this. You have to shop around.

Shopping for an attorney is very much like shopping for melons. You have to check the prices and see if they “feel” right to you. You have the right to ask questions, look things over, and be choosy about whom you hire to take on such a major personal role in your life.

The best way to find an attorney is through some friend or trusted person who has had a satisfactory personal experience with one. But don’t forget to check things out for yourself. Don’t be intimidated. Call around on the telephone to find out how much an initial interview will cost, and how much the whole case might cost. See if you like the way the attorney and the law office staff treat you. If you only want some advice on part of doing your own divorce, ask ahead of time to see if they are willing to do this and find out what their rates are for consultations.

Most attorneys will do the first interview for nothing or for a very small fee, perhaps $15 to $25. Hourly rates run from $50 to $200 per hour, but $100 is pretty common. Price is not everything–it has to feel right. Talk to the attorney to see if you like the experience.

Why You Should Not Retain an Attorney

It is okay to use an attorney, but most people should never retain one in their divorce case unless there is a clear reason for doing so. When you retain an attorney, the attorney takes professional responsibility to act on your behalf–to represent you. You are literally handing over your power and authority to act.

Our system of justice is known as “the adversary system.” It began in the middle ages when trial by combat meant that whoever survived was right. This approach to justice forms the basis of our legal system today. The attorney works in our system as a combatant, but that is not what you want for solving family and personal problems. Law schools do not require courses in counseling or communications. They teach aggressive and defensive strategy and how to get the advantage in every case. Lawyers are taught to look for problems, not solutions.

Lawyers are taught to act in ways that will complicate your case and make it worse instead of better. They tend to take cases into court quickly, even when that is likely to cause upset and make settlement more difficult.

Never forget that when you retain an attorney, the more trouble you have, the more money the attorney makes. That’s hardly an incentive to keep things simple. But keeping things simple is what you want to have the best possible divorce.

Copyright 2005 Ed Sherman

By: Ed Sherman

Santa Barbara County has over 2,000 Santa Barbara attorneys or Santa Barbara lawyers registered with the State Bar of California. Some popular cities within Santa Barbara County where Santa Barbara County attorneys may be practicing law are Buellton, Carpinteria, Casmalia, Goleta, Guadalupe, Isla Vista, Lompoc, Los Alamos, Los Olivos, Montecito, New Cuyama, Orcutt, Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Santa Ynez, Solvang, and others. With so many attorneys practicing law in Santa Barbara County California, how do you find the right Santa Barbara County divorce attorney or Santa Barbara County divorce lawyer who can help you with your particular divorce case and/or child custody case?

First, an experienced Santa Barbara divorce attorney or Santa Barbara divorce lawyer should have experience and legal expertise in the field of family law. Family law covers a variety of topics such as divorce or dissolution of marriage, paternity, domestic partnerships, child custody and visitation, domestic violence, restraining orders, spousal support, child support, guardianship, adoptions, community property, division of property, and more. Some Santa Barbara divorce attorneys may specialize or have more experience than others in specific areas of family law. For example, some Santa Barbara attorneys are certified by the State Bar of California or an organization accredited by the State Bar of California as a specialist in the field of family law. Currently, Santa Barbara County has approximately a dozen Certified Family Law Specialists (CFLS) registered with the State Bar of California. These Santa Barbara County attorney’s have made efforts to become State Bar certified in the field of family law. In other words, of more than 2,000 Santa Barbara County attorneys in California, approximately a dozen are Certified Family Law Specialists (CFLS). However, just because a Santa Barbara County attorney is not a Certified Family Law Specialist does not mean he/she is not qualified and/or experienced to handle a Santa Barbara County family law, divorce and/or child custody case. In fact, there are many well-qualified Santa Barbara County attorneys or Santa Barbara County lawyers who do not hold State Bar certifications. If you are searching for a Santa Barbara County divorce attorney or Santa Barbara County divorce lawyer and you do not know what to look for or where to begin, narrowing down your search to only those who practice family law in Santa Barbara County may be a good place to begin.

Further, an experienced Santa Barbara divorce attorney or Santa Barbara divorce lawyer should have success representing clients on child custody and divorce cases in Santa Barbara County. He/she will likely be familiar with the judges, processes, and procedures in the Santa Barbara County family court which an attorney outside of Santa Barbara County may not have. However, just because an attorney or lawyer is not located in Santa Barbara County California does not mean he/she is not qualified and/or experienced to represent you on a family law, divorce, or child custody case in Santa Barbara County. Ultimately, if you have a child custody and/or divorce case in Santa Barbara County, you will want to investigate any prospective attorney’s background and experience and choose the right divorce attorney or divorce lawyer you believe can help you with your Santa Barbara divorce case and legal need.

In part one, I briefly outlined the framework of Section 61.30, of the Florida Statutes, pertaining to how child support is calculated. Let’s look at two instances when the parents might disagree as to the amount of child support payable by either of them.

So why do people fight about the amount of child support if there is formula provided?

It boils down to time and money. Specifically, what is considered income by a party, and how much time a parent shares with the child. When it comes to what is income, parents may disagree as to what should or should not be included. For example, if you’re a W-2 wage earner, you might think that your income can be easily determined from your W-2 form. But what if you get bonuses? Should that income be included? Inclusion (or exclusion) of bonuses as income is what parties could fight about in this (very narrow) example.

For parents who own a business, the potential for disagreement as to what is income is usually greater. Sometimes a business may pay for certain personal expenses of a party, and this could be argued to be income to the parent for whom the business pays such expenses.

When it comes to time-sharing, the basic child support calculation under the Guidelines has a built-in assumption: it assumes that the party paying child support is sharing less than forty percent of overnights with the child. All else being equal, the child support amount due from a parent will be different if the parent spends at least forty percent (40%) of overnights with a child. Additional calculations are needed to arrive at the child support obligation of parents who share time with their children for forty percent or more of the overnights.

Now that Florida has eliminated the terms custody and visitation, the child support guidelines might be next on their list for revision. It makes sense to find a better way to deal with the “time is money” factor currently reflected in the guidelines. In doing so, the parties would have one less thing to keep them from concentrating on the best interest of their children when it comes to working on a time-sharing plan for them.

By: Vivian Rodriguez