Should I bring anything to my consultation?

A very common question that we get asked when setting up a consultation is “What should I bring?” There are many answers to this question depending on what your situation looks like. However, whether your case is a Divorce, Legitimation, Adoption, Child Custody, or Child Support it is important to have a goal in mind of what you would like to achieve in your case. Already coming with a goal in mind allows the attorney to lay out a plan of action to help obtain your end goal.

Do you have a case in progress?

If your family law case is already in progress meaning you have filed with the Court, you should bring all of the case pleadings. The case pleadings will be anything filed with the Court so, for example, a Complaint or Summons. It is important to bring these documents because the attorney needs to be able to determine what stage your case is in. After the attorney determines the progress on the case, they can better layout a plan of action to move forward.

What to bring to my Divorce Consultation? 

For your initial consultation, it is important to have some knowledge of the marital assets. Those martial assets include the marital home, joint or separate bank accounts, investment accounts, and retirement accounts. Do not stress about knowing each value of all of your assets in the initial consultation. The value of these assets can later be obtained by a process known as discovery. Second, you should be ready to share a brief explanation of what your current situation looks like. You should be ready to talk about the status of your current marriage and what led you to seek a divorce from your current spouse. If there are minor children involved be ready to speak about what you would like your visitation schedule to look like. Lastly, as stated above it is important to have a goal in mind. You should come in with some expectation of how you would like the marital assets to be split between your spouse and yourself.

What should I bring to my Modification Consultation?

A modification case means you are trying to either modify an existing parenting plan or child support. Therefore, it is important to bring the original Parenting Plan or Child Support Worksheet to the consultation. Also, if the Parenting Plan or Child Support Worksheet was a result of a divorce it is important to have your Final Judgement and Decree with you as well.

Why is it important to have these documents and information for the consultation?

  The documents and information you bring assist the attorney in giving you an accurate retainer quote at the end of the consultation. For example, a retainer for the uncontested divorce with few martial assets looks very different than a contested divorce with a lot of marital assets. Further, the attorney cannot give you proper legal advice if they cannot review the documents from your past case or hear about your current situation. If you are interested in scheduling a Consultation with one of our experienced Family Law attorneys, please contact us at 866-527-2630.