What Should I Bring to a Consultation with a Florida Divorce Lawyer?

The thought of going through the divorce process may be intimidating. For many people, the thought of simply meeting or talking with a divorce lawyer is just as intimidating.  You will likely have many questions and do not even know where to begin.

You will not normally need to provide any documentation at the initial consultation, as that will come later in the process.  Although, if you have a pre or post marital agreement, then that would be beneficial to provide up front so the attorney can briefly review the terms.

The initial consultation is very important as the information you provide will help the attorney assess your case, understand your goals and explain the divorce process in general.  The attorney may provide advice based upon what you relay; however, only after learning more about the case and reviewing the relevant documents, can an attorney provide specific advice.

Prior or Existing Case File 

If another lawyer previously worked on your case or is working on your case, then it would be helpful for you to provide a summary and timeline of the work done so far in the case and the current status of the case.  Later in the process, we would need to obtain your prior case file.  Most of it will already be online and we can just have it forwarded to us via Dropbox or other internet means.

Children Issues

You will be asked to complete a Questionnaire to provide information on your children.  It would be very important to know if there are any current or past Court Orders concerning custody, visitation and/or child support, or any informal arrangements you have with your spouse concerning your children.

Assets and Liabilities

Review all of your financial documents and use them to put together a list of how much you have in your bank accounts, retirement accounts or other financial accounts, as well as other assets, debts, properties, etc. that you know about.  A general idea of where you stand with the marital assets and liabilities is all that is necessary to know at an initial consultation.

Keep in mind that the initial consultation is only a brief synopsis of your situation and more will be learned as the case progresses. Discovery of assets and debts during the divorce process that you will complete in the divorce and where actual documentation will be required.

Evidence of Infidelity

Florida is a no-fault divorce state, which means that in most cases, a person only has to state that their marriage is irretrievably broken in order to get a divorce. There are no longer grounds of fault, such as adultery. Still, if your spouse’s wrongdoing is the reason for the divorce this is something the attorney would need to know.  This is particularly important if your spouse wasted marital funds on the wrongdoing, such as infidelity or substance abuse.

A List of Questions to Ask 

Again, you likely have a lot of questions for your lawyer. Make a list of them so you make sure you ask all of them and you get the answers you need.  Remember there are no stupid questions.

Contact Our Top Notch Tampa Divorce Attorney for a Consultation Today 

If you are facing divorce, you need legal help. At All Family Law Group, P.A., our Tampa divorce attorney can provide it, answer your questions, and help you prepare for upcoming proceedings.

Call us now at 813-672-1900 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation in many cases with one of our experienced attorneys and to get the legal advice you need.  Whether the consultation is free depends on whether you have or had an existing case and there are documents to review, which will require more time than the initial consultation. Se habla Espanol.

Source:

leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=000-0099/0061/0061.html

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