John Samore
Blog: Lawyer’s Insight on
Legal Matters:
- Divorce, Separation, Custody
-
"Lawyer's Insight' is a periodic blog by Mr. Samore on
current legal issues that informs readers how current,
legal events influence Americans' lives. If you would like
to ask Mr. Samore to address a particular concern which
you may have, simply send an email to the address at left
with subject "Questions for Lawyer's Insight."
Click on the links below to quickly reach a particular topic,
or just scroll down to read what is of interest. Other
sources of information from Mr. Samore are on the
Common Questions and About Us pages of this website.
If you don’t see a link to a topic of interest, check the other Lawyer’s Insight pages.
Divorce
• What is the basic information needed to ask about Divorce or Child Custody?What is the basic information needed to ask about Divorce or Child Custody?
October 19, 2014 As songwriter Neil Sedaka from fifty years ago lamented, "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do." And he was only singing about high school sweethearts. Adult relationships can have many lifelong consequences. Let's talk about some of the basic information that you and I will discuss at that first conference. I shall need to know how far along in the proceedings you are. Has anything been filed? Is the other person expecting this? Do you and the other person still live together? Have you ever lived together? Do you have any shared asset (like a house, car, bank accounts, credit cards)? Have you been paying the other person's bills? Has that other person been paying yours? Do you file joint tax returns? What records do you maintain regarding your earnings, debts, shared property? Are you current on all your bills? Is your head spinning yet? If not, good, you are off to a fine start in putting together the records that we lawyers need to effectively represent you or at least give you helpful advice. If these questions leave you wondering even more, you probably need to look around for those records ASAP and very soon schedule an appointment to review what you have. When children are involved, things can get even more complicated. Are the children under 18? Do both parents want custody? Are grandparents deeply involved in their lives? Have the children taken sides? Are they conflicted or confused? How are they doing in school? Does one of the parents want to move out of the city or state? Is anyone in counseling? And many, many more questions. A whole other area is how a case is litigated. Does one side have more financial resources than the other? If the case has already been filed, who is the lawyer on the other side? You want a lawyer representing you who has done as many hundreds of these as have we, because lawyers and their offices develop reputations over the years. Some lawyers prepare well, others are sloppy, and some charge certain minimum rates that guarantee that a case will involve a certain amount of attorney time for both sides, and some of that time may be more than necessary for a fair resolution. Do you want a attorney who will quote to you a fee for the case that is lower than the attorney knows will eventually be required because of whose office is on the other side? Do you want a lawyer who charges a standard minimum rate that may be more than necessary? Or do you want an attorney who will tell you the truth from the beginning (even if it may be a little unpleasant)? "Law Office A always charges a minimum of $X so you are probably in for a longer (and more expensive) struggle than might be necessary, and we will have to spend more time than it should require?" or "Law Office B has a reputation of charging a fair rate based on the actual difficulty of the case and, since your case is not all that complicated, our fee will probably be less than $X." Honest information and steady doses of reality has always been our commitment and one of the main reasons our office has survived almost thirty years on former client or other attorney's referrals with no advertising. More importantly, it helps you make the final decision. See our Divorce Page.
John Samore
Blog: Lawyer’s Insight on
Legal Matters:
- Divorce, Separation, Custody -
"Lawyer's Insight' is a periodic blog by Mr. Samore
on current legal issues that informs readers how
current, legal events influence Americans' lives. If
you would like to ask Mr. Samore to address a
particular concern which you
may have, simply send an email
to the address at left with
subject "Questions for Lawyer's
Insight."
Click on the links below to
quickly reach a particular topic,
or just scroll down to read what
is of interest. Other sources of
information from Mr. Samore are on the Common
Questions and About Us pages of this website.
If you don’t see a link to a topic of interest, check the
other Lawyer’s Insight pages.
Divorce
• What is the basic information needed to ask about Divorce or Child Custody?
What is the basic information needed to ask about
Divorce or Child Custody?
October 19, 2014 As songwriter Neil Sedaka from fifty years ago lamented, "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do." And he was only singing about high school sweethearts. Adult relationships can have many lifelong consequences. Let's talk about some of the basic information that you and I will discuss at that first conference. I shall need to know how far along in the proceedings you are. Has anything been filed? Is the other person expecting this? Do you and the other person still live together? Have you ever lived together? Do you have any shared asset (like a house, car, bank accounts, credit cards)? Have you been paying the other person's bills? Has that other person been paying yours? Do you file joint tax returns? What records do you maintain regarding your earnings, debts, shared property? Are you current on all your bills? Is your head spinning yet? If not, good, you are off to a fine start in putting together the records that we lawyers need to effectively represent you or at least give you helpful advice. If these questions leave you wondering even more, you probably need to look around for those records ASAP and very soon schedule an appointment to review what you have. When children are involved, things can get even more complicated. Are the children under 18? Do both parents want custody? Are grandparents deeply involved in their lives? Have the children taken sides? Are they conflicted or confused? How are they doing in school? Does one of the parents want to move out of the city or state? Is anyone in counseling? And many, many more questions. A whole other area is how a case is litigated. Does one side have more financial resources than the other? If the case has already been filed, who is the lawyer on the other side? You want a lawyer representing you who has done as many hundreds of these as have we, because lawyers and their offices develop reputations over the years. Some lawyers prepare well, others are sloppy, and some charge certain minimum rates that guarantee that a case will involve a certain amount of attorney time for both sides, and some of that time may be more than necessary for a fair resolution. Do you want a attorney who will quote to you a fee for the case that is lower than the attorney knows will eventually be required because of whose office is on the other side? Do you want a lawyer who charges a standard minimum rate that may be more than necessary? Or do you want an attorney who will tell you the truth from the beginning (even if it may be a little unpleasant)? "Law Office A always charges a minimum of $X so you are probably in for a longer (and more expensive) struggle than might be necessary, and we will have to spend more time than it should require?" or "Law Office B has a reputation of charging a fair rate based on the actual difficulty of the case and, since your case is not all that complicated, our fee will probably be less than $X." Honest information and steady doses of reality has always been our commitment and one of the main reasons our office has survived almost thirty years on former client or other attorney's referrals with no advertising. More importantly, it helps you make the final decision. See our Divorce Page.
