What Divorce Lawyers Do
Divorce lawyers provide individuals with guidance through the legal process of dissolving their marriage. They educate clients on their rights and options when dissolving, including how to divide assets, file paperwork and decide custody/support agreements.
An attorney can also assist in calculating spousal support amounts by valuing marital property and taking into account factors like length of marriage, financial needs of recipient spouse and income of payer spouse.
Provide Legal Guidance
Divorce and custody matters can be highly personal, contentious affairs. A legal professional’s expertise can provide much-needed stability during these trying times, helping guide individuals towards finding positive resolutions to these cases.
Divorce attorneys offer advice regarding your legal rights and options, including explaining how New York laws impact divorces, custody arrangements, property division, spousal support payments and child custody disputes. In addition, they can advise clients how best to settle disputes through negotiation or mediation rather than court.
Communication between spouses during a divorce can become heated, and lawyers often help maintain professionalism and reduce emotional strain by managing these interactions professionally and reducing emotional strain. They may set up settlement discussions or act as go-between in contentious talks about child custody, visitation rights or finances; ensure all paperwork is submitted to the correct courts; review draft settlement agreements to make sure they are fair and enforceable; as well as fight on your behalf in court should negotiations fail.
Negotiate and Mediate
Divorce can be emotionally draining and contentious court battles only add insult to injury. A good divorce lawyer helps couples find creative and tailored solutions for their legal disputes while keeping things civilized and professional.
Attorneys can be invaluable when establishing custody and support arrangements, where the best interests of children must always come first. They will assist in creating equitable parenting plans while making sure child support payments are calculated accurately.
Attorneys also assist spouses during divorce mediation, which is typically faster and more cost-effective than litigation. A skilled mediator will strive to reduce conflict while encouraging both sides to participate constructively without engaging in name calling and blame shifting.
Attorneys can assist clients in the preparation for mediation by providing them with comprehensive information about their assets, liabilities, and the potential legal outcomes of any decisions during negotiations. Attorneys may also help their clients identify any inequities or pitfalls in proposed agreements and offer alternative solutions as part of their services.
Advocate for Your Interests
Divorce attorneys provide their clients with support during negotiations, mediation, collaborative divorce or litigation to protect financial interests, negotiate fair custody arrangements and advocate for fair alimony obligations that meet long-term needs. Their goal is to facilitate resolution that benefits all involved parties involved.
Divorces involving high levels of conflict require an intelligent combination of legal strategy and emotional sensitivity, so divorce lawyers often act as intermediaries between spouses, facilitating clear communications to reduce hostility and reach an amicable settlement.
Financial professionals work to ensure assets are valued fairly, often consulting with them to uncover hidden assets or assess disputed valuations, while divorce lawyers work to make spousal or alimony payments fair and reasonable based on length of marriage and each spouse’s financial circumstances. When looking for a lawyer, seek recommendations from trusted friends, family or coworkers as their personal experience can reveal more information than an anonymous online review or advertisement can.
Represent You in Court
While many divorce cases settle outside court, others require going to trial. If yours does, having legal assistance to prepare and defend against a trial will provide invaluable assistance when questioning witnesses and providing evidence supporting your position is required.
Divorce attorneys also handle all legal filings with the court, ensuring all forms and documents are submitted in their correct forms within their required deadlines. This includes drafting and filing the divorce petition, property division proposals and financial affidavits; in addition to preparing requests for temporary orders to address issues like spousal or child support payments.
In high-net worth divorce cases, a divorce lawyer will collaborate with financial experts to ensure all assets are disclosed and the final settlement reflects an equitable share of the marital estate. They may also negotiate alimony agreements which take into account factors like length of marriage and each party’s individual financial needs; and calculate child support according to state guidelines.
