10 Questions to Ask During Your Free Consultation with a Pennsylvania Divorce Lawyer

If you are preparing to go through a divorce in Pennsylvania, one of the first steps you need to take is hiring a lawyer to represent you. While hiring a lawyer isn’t legally required, there are several important reasons why you will want an experienced lawyer on your side.

Hiring a divorce lawyer starts with scheduling a free consultation. While your free consultation is an opportunity to learn more about the divorce process in Pennsylvania, it is also an opportunity to make an informed decision about your legal representation. As a result, while you should be prepared to answer some basic questions about your family and financial circumstances, you should come prepared with your own list of questions as well.

Here Are 10 Questions You Can Ask During Your Initial Divorce Consultation

While you can (and should) ask any questions you have about the divorce process, you also can (and should) ask questions focused on figuring out if the lawyer in front of you is the right choice for you. With this in mind, you should feel free to ask questions such as:

1. Do You Exclusively Practice Family Law?

One of the first questions you might want to ask is whether the lawyer exclusively practices family law. While some lawyers are general practitioners, others focus their practice in one specific area.

Neither one is necessarily better than the other. However, when you are preparing for a divorce, there can be benefits to hiring a lawyer who exclusively handles divorces and related family law matters on a daily basis. Ultimately, this is just one factor you will consider as you make your decision.

2. How Much Experience Do You Have Representing Clients During the Divorce Process?

When you are preparing to go through a divorce, experience matters. A lawyer who has extensive experience representing clients during the divorce process will be able to offer insights and advice that only come with first-hand knowledge. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you need a lawyer who has been practicing law for 30 or 40 years, but it does mean that you will want to choose a lawyer who has enough experience to help you feel confident in your decision-making.

3. What is Your Approach to Representing Clients During the Divorce Process?

You should also feel free to ask about the lawyer’s approach to representing clients during the divorce process.

With this question, there isn’t necessarily a “right” answer. Rather, the goal of asking this question is to find out if you fundamentally agree with the lawyer’s approach to the divorce process. For example, if you are primarily interested in targeting an amicable resolution but the lawyer you’re speaking with prefers to litigate disputes in court, he or she might not be the right choice for you.

4. Can You Provide Some Examples of How You’ve Resolved Complex Disputes Without Going to Court?

In the vast majority of cases, resolving a divorce is about compromise. Each spouse will need to be willing to consider the other’s point of view, and they will both need to take a forward-thinking approach when disputes arise. But, when disputes arise, the spouses’ respective lawyers play (or should play) an important role in finding a way forward as well. With this in mind, you may find it useful to ask about how the lawyer has helped past clients resolve complex disputes without going to court.

5. Have You Handled Divorces Involving [a Specific Issue Involved in Your Divorce]?

If your divorce will involve any particularly complex or unique issues, you may want to ask the lawyer if he or she has handled divorces involving these issues in the past. As discussed above, experience matters. During the divorce process, you will need to make decisions that will impact the rest of your life. This makes it critical to have an advocate with relevant experience on your side.

6. What Do I Need to Do (or Avoid Doing) Before I File for Divorce?

Preparing for your divorce in advance can help make the process more efficient, and it will help ensure that you are prepared to proactively address any issues that arise. During your initial consultation, you should feel free to ask about the steps you need to take (and mistakes you need to avoid) to set yourself up for a successful process.

7. If I Hire You, What Can I Expect During the Divorce Process?

Speaking of the process, you should also feel free to ask about what you can expect along the way. An experienced divorce lawyer will be able to provide an overview of the major steps in the process and the key practical and legal considerations involved.

8. Will I Work With You One-on-One Throughout My Divorce?

You should expect to work with your lawyer one-on-one throughout your divorce. While paralegals or office staff may handle some of the more routine aspects of the process, you should be able to work directly with your lawyer when it comes to making decisions that will impact your future.

9. What Are Your Legal Fees for Handling a Divorce?

Any divorce lawyer you choose should be fully transparent about his or her legal fees. As a client, you have the right to know how much you will be required to pay for your legal representation. If you move forward, your lawyer’s legal fees should be clearly laid out in your engagement agreement.

10. What Are the Next Steps if I Want to Move Forward?

You should also feel free to ask about the next steps if you decide that you want to move forward. What is the lawyer’s process for gathering necessary information? How and when will the divorce process formally start? These are questions that an experienced divorce lawyer should be more than happy to answer during your free initial consultation.

Schedule a Free Initial Divorce Consultation with Stroudsburg Divorce Lawyer Gary J. Saylor, II

If you would like to schedule a free initial consultation with a divorce lawyer, we invite you to get in touch. Call 570-421-5568 or contact us online to speak with Stroudsburg divorce lawyer Gary J. Saylor, II in confidence.