Rockford's Trusted Family Law Attorney

There is an old saying that in criminal court you have bad people at their best, but in divorce court you have good people at their worst.  A divorce sometimes brings out every negative emotion in the human experience and is the most stressful time a person and/or their children can go through.  When choosing an attorney to represent you, you need to be able to connect with that attorney.  Here are a few things they should be able to do:

• Ability to communicate well

During your case, you will need to be able to effectively communicate your concerns and expectations to your lawyer, and your attorney will need to be able to clearly explain things to you regarding your case and provide you with realistic expectations.

• Experience

Your divorce case is likely to touch all aspects of your life-family, finances, retirement, career, etc.  To protect your interests, your attorney should be knowledgeable and experienced enough in his or her practice to deal with the complexities of your case, while allowing you to continue your daily life as much as possible.

• Composure

Your attorney's ability to maintain composure is not just about staying calm and focused with you, but also about exhibiting self-control before the Court or with your spouse's attorney, even if frustrated.  Look for a divorce lawyer who will represent your interests strongly, but who will not take matters personally if the rulings are not in your favor. You do not want the Judge focused on the attorney's behavior, but on your issues.

Every lawyer tries to respond to a client in an expeditious manner, but there are occasions in which the attorney is in court or unavailable to respond as quickly as the client may desire. To maintain a practice, a lawyer has to take on many cases, all of which are important, but responsibilities for each case can sometimes overlap in the Courts expectation as to the filing of pleadings or setting court appearances, and the lawyer needs the trust of the client that matters are being handled effectively and efficiently.

Eventually, the overall case will be set for trial, if not settled. However, there will be intermittent temporary issues that will be set for hearings or argument prior to trial, as well as required statuses and case management dates. These court settings are usually set with many other cases, and if you are required to appear, you may have to wait for your case to be called. It is a frustrating process, but none the less, a process which requires patience.

There is a process called discovery, wherein either party may request their spouse to answer a series of questions or turn over documents. Further, once the process has started, it must be supplemented occasionally until there is a trial or settlement. This process is time consuming and expensive. Most notably, without a doubt, it is one of the aspects an attorney hears the most complaints about, as it is usually one of the most frustrating aspects for the client. However, without discovery there is no context to determine if the agreement is fair. And, if you do discovery and your spouse does not disclose an asset, but you later find out about it, you have a right to return to court and ask for your interest in it. If there is no discovery, you cannot ask for it.