Keep Your Divorce Lawyer Close: Legal Decisions that Separate You From Your Lawyer & How to Avoid Them

If you hired a divorce lawyer to speak on your behalf in court, you want to keep him or her close. You do not want to be separated from your lawyer at a critical time. To avoid being separated from your lawyer, here are three legal decisions you should not make unless you have no other choice.

Entering Into Mediation

Agreeing with the decision to enter into mediation with your spouse means you will open yourself up to whatever nasty things your ex has to say and you may still get nowhere. Mediation places you in a room with a single legal mediator that is neither for you or against either side. You are separated from your lawyer, as your lawyer cannot enter the mediation room with you. The mediator cannot provide legal advice of any kind, only listen to what you and your ex both want and make suggestions on how to agree based on what the mediator knows about family court.

Mediation is only good if you think a third party (who is not a lawyer) can talk sense into your ex or help you both come to an agreement. It is also cheaper than a lawyer, but you will probably incur some court charges, depending on your income and where you live. If decisions still cannot be reached in mediation, or if you agree to something in mediation and feel pressured to agree to it, your lawyer cannot help you because he or she was not present.

Frequent Court Appearances Over Trivial Matters

Some people are just high-conflict types. This proves to be a problem for the courts as no court judge wants to be the regulator in your frequent post-divorce skirmishes. When your ex constantly pulls you back into court for things that are completely unnecessary, the court may decide that removing your lawyers and having you resolve your differences elsewhere is the best solution. Do your best to avoid frequent and unnecessary court appearances if you want to keep your lawyer at your side.

Dismissing Your Lawyer to Represent Yourself

Unless you have extensive legal and financial resources, it is not a good idea to dismiss your divorce lawyer even halfway through your divorce proceedings. Your lawyer has put together all the necessary information to fight for you and your children. You do not have access to your divorce lawyer's files, nor can you get them after you have dismissed him or her. That leaves you without the proverbial leg to stand on.

Your ex, with or without a lawyer, can come after you like a piranha chasing raw meat. Keep your lawyer on retainer, even after the divorce is concluded, because you never know what mischief your ex might create next.

Learn more about your options by consulting resources like William K Holman.