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Divorce is hard, but it doesn’t need to be. There are plenty of tips and advice to make a divorce go smoother.
Stacy Rocheleau is the founder of Right Lawyers, a well-known and well-reviewed Las Vegas divorce attorney. Her first tip is to know when to call a lawyer.
“A lot of people say, 'I don't want to spend the money,'” Rocheleau said. “They don’t call a lawyer first. I've had dozens of cases where people spend more money trying to fix it on the back end than if they had just called me first.”
Right Lawyers has handled thousands of cases since opening in May 2003. This means they have seen and fixed plenty of mistakes. They have gained the experience and knowledge to plan for things people don't consider.
For example, Rocheleau had a client who thought he could sell his house without a lawyer. The couple agreed that both would live in the house until it sold, but his ex-wife moved her new boyfriend into the home. The husband couldn't evict the boyfriend because couple's informal agreement didn't mention letting other people live in the house.
Couples should call a divorce lawyer if they have children and cannot agree on a custody schedule, have considerable assets or debts to divide, or if there is a long-term marriage, Rocheleau said.
The next tip is to avoid attorneys who bill by the hour. Lawyers are notorious for billing for every phone call, every email and even every minute they spend thinking about a case. But that's not how Right Lawyers operates. “We use a fixed fee model [at Right Lawyers],” Rocheleau said. “We don't bill hourly.”
When clients or couples come for a consultation, Rocheleau's team discuss the case and give clients a quote for the entire divorce. We give them an estimate and that is all we charge.
“You can call me as much as you want. You email me as much you want,” Rocheleau said. “It allows us to invest as much time as we need in your case without draining your bank account.”
“There's a lot of different ways to represent someone effectively without breaking the bank,” Rocheleau said.
Right Lawyers' upfront pricing policy also allows them to avoid a major pitfall of divorce proceedings: The “scorched earth” policy of fighting every fight.
“There's a lot of emotions that go along with a divorce. Some people are fighting to fight,” Rocheleau said. “It's the end of the relationship. They want it so someone else can't have it.”
That's why it's important to have a lawyer who's not afraid to say when it's not worth fighting – especially when it comes to kids. When divorce lawyers are charging by the hour there is no incentive to help couples see the futility, and expense of fighting to fight.
Rocheleau, who is a mother of three herself, works with family counselors and recently attended a seminar about the emotional toll divorces can take on children.
“We really have a responsibility and duty to minimize litigation,” Rocheleau said.
She tells clients, “You've got a bright future ahead of you, and a lot of great things out there. Let's get you on the road to getting things done.”
Finally, it's important to learn about the laws in your state, and to take in tips
“We are very big on educating and advocating for our clients,” Rocheleau said. “There is a ton of educational material on our website.”
The website includes answers to common questions like “What is an uncontested divorce?” and “Can we file divorce paperwork ourselves?”
Providing people with the tools they need to file for divorce without an attorney might seem counterintuitive, but Right Lawyers sees that as part of their mission. “It's about educating people and helping them get through what is a really bad time in their life,” Rocheleau said.
This article was presented and sponsored by RIGHT Lawyers. For more information, go to rightlawyers.com
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