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An initial consultation with an attorney is crucial for determining whether or not you will work well together. By meeting with an attorney, you can see how sympathetic they are to your situation and decide whether or not you’d like to invest in retaining that lawyer. This is a large and expensive commitment, so I would recommend meeting with at least two or three attorneys before making your decision.
You should certainly plan to have several consultations; I would encourage you to shop around the same way you may shop for a new car. Instead of going to a dealership and buying the first car you looked at, you would want to do your research and test several vehicles before making a decision.
During your search, you may find certain dealerships that turn you off from wanting to do business or others that stand out for their character. The same principles apply to hiring your divorce attorney, as this is a serious decision with significant financial implications.
It is not generally necessary to bring documentation to your initial consultation. You can provide any documents that you would like to have reviewed by emailing them to your attorney prior to your consultation. This way, your documents can be reviewed by your attorney prior to your meeting so that you will still have time for any questions you may have.
In lieu of your bringing documentation or financial information to our first meeting, I have a standard intake form where I will ask you for basic information such as your income, homeowner status, property portfolios and lists of assets.
You can bring someone to your consultation, but this is not always wise. The primary rule is to never bring your spouse to a divorce consult unless you have cleared them with your attorney. This can easily lead to a conflict of interest for your lawyer and should be avoided unless you and your attorney have decided otherwise.
I would also highly recommend clearing any friends or relatives that you plan to bring in through your attorney prior to your initial consultation. For example, if you tell me that you would like to bring your brother to your initial consultation, I will ask if they are going to be a witness in the case.
If the answer is yes, I will ask you to consider bringing someone else in, as another attorney may argue that attorney-client privilege has been waived by bringing a witness to the consultation.
Ultimately, it is okay to bring someone to your consultation for emotional support, but it is important to look out for the risk of accidentally waiving attorney-client privilege. If you plan to bring a friend or family member to your consultation, it is best to contact your attorney first so that they can assess the situation.
Much like any other legal case, I believe that knowledge is power. The more educated and prepared you can be to handle your case, the better. In fact, I actually have downloadable eBooks on the homepage of my website that you can review for free to educate yourself on your case. The books discuss how to handle divorce cases in New York, and I encourage all of my potential clients to read these books prior to our meeting.
I love it when a potential client visits my office and lets me know that they read the books on my website. This takes a lot of the guesswork off of your plate as the client and reassures me as the attorney that you are serious about your case and educated on the divorce process. Gathering the proper resources to educate yourself before your initial consultation benefits both you and your attorney.
Attorney David Bliven is a seasoned lawyer based in New York, who has helped countless clients just like you navigate the intricacies of family law. With extensive experience, he is prepared to assist you in filing for divorce and custody so that you can get started on the next phase of your life.
Still have questions? Ready to get started? Contact The Law Office of David Bliven today to schedule an initial consultation.
In my professional opinion, there is a communicational hierarchy – appointments are better than emails, and emails are better than nothing. Emails are useful in certain scenarios, but any lengthy discussions should be reserved for appointments. Luckily, the advent of Zoom and FaceTime makes it easy to schedule appointments and address any questions or concerns.
Appointments are also preferable for financial reasons. I have had back-and-forths with clients who have not realized that they are billed separately for each email and text message when they could just as easily address their concerns in a 30-minute meeting. When you have something to discuss at length, an appointment is your best option.
Step one is to avoid telling your potential attorney that you have an especially complicated case but can’t afford anything. Second, you will want to be as honest as possible with your attorney so that they can make an assessment of your case based on an accurate account of events. If you don’t provide your attorney with accurate, honest information, they may accidentally misrepresent your case.
It is also important to be sure that you make a list of any necessary questions you want to get out of the way. This way, you can avoid leaving your consultation feeling like you need to book another one because you forgot to ask important questions.
What you bring to the consultation depends on the issues involved. Essentially, you’re not required to bring hard evidence to the attorney in your first meeting. But you do want to bring in general information that relates to your divorce.
For instance, you may want to bring information on your spouse’s drug or alcohol issues, such as approximate dates of their DWI convictions. Avoid vague information because this would also make the case vague.
You may also want to review some financial statements, especially if your divorce is going to involve financial issues. Many attorneys at the initial consult will want to know the following:
It pays to review this information and bring it to your initial consultation. If there’s either current or prior litigation, you should bring in as much of the documentation on that litigation as possible. You should also bring any prior orders or agreements.
Any documents that you want your divorce attorney in New York to go through (such as a separation agreement or prenup) should be sent for review prior to your initial consultation. To be frank, it would be a waste of your time to have you sit in a conference room while your attorney flips through a 30 to 40-page document.
It’s best to email these documents in advance so your attorney can go through them and mark up any areas of concern. Then, at the consultation, they can highlight the areas of the documents they would like to focus on or ask questions about.
The same applies if the attorney has paperwork they would like you to go through before the consultation. They can send you the documents before you meet – giving you enough time to go through them.
The initial consultation with a divorce attorney in New York is not really going to go into the reasons why you’re looking to get divorced. Contrary to what many people assume, addressing the reasons why you want to get divorced is not essential to your case (most divorce attorneys assume if you’re present in their office, you’ve already made the decision to terminate the marriage), and the attorney will not try to convince you otherwise.
There is a no-fault divorce in New York, which means you don’t need a reason other than (essentially) “I don’t want to be married anymore” in order to legally end a marriage. So, instead of discussing your spouse’s negative points, your initial consultation is better used in discussing matters such as:
These are the issues you should focus on. If your expectation is to come to the attorney and relate the reasons why your spouse was a bad husband or wife, this won’t be a productive use of your time. Instead, prepare yourself mentally to address the matters above.
There are several approaches you can use to ensure you make the most out of that first consultation such as:
Consultations go better when you’re prepared and have an idea of the areas you would like to address. Leaving the initial consultation entirely to the attorney means you’ll get a lot of general information that is not specific to your situation. In contrast, having questions ready ensures the discussion is more helpful and centered around your case.
For more information on Top 10 Tips To Prepare For Your Initial Consultation With A Divorce Attorney In New York, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (914) 362-3080 today.
Attorney David Bliven is a seasoned lawyer based in New York, who has helped countless clients just like you navigate the intricacies of family law. With extensive experience, he is prepared to assist you in filing for divorce and custody so that you can get started on the next phase of your life.
Still have questions? Ready to get started? Contact The Law Office of David Bliven today to schedule an initial consultation.
