Top Six Reasons You Need an Austin Family Law Attorney For Your Divorce

A lot of people these days are trying to handle their own divorces.  For most this is a mistake, potentially a very serious one. Here are my top six reasons why you should hire an experienced Austin family law attorney to handle your divorce case.

1. Experience – An experienced divorce lawyer can advise you on what to expect if you went to court.  The difference is experience – if you tried to handle your own case you don’t really know what a likely courthouse outcome might be so you might seek terms that are completely unrealistic. Alternatively, you might “give away the farm.”
2. Increased Likelihood of Settlement – A big part of reaching a settlement is understanding the range of possible outcomes if a judge were to decide your case (see #1).  Knowing this can dramatically increase your chances of settling the case because it will force you to negotiate the case based on reality, rather than what you might feel is “right.”
3. Avoid Future Litigation – It is very common for someone who handles their own divorce to miss important terms in the settlement.  For example, a retirement account or pension might not be awarded to either party, thus creating the likelihood for a future case to divide the undivided property. A good family law attorney can ensure that all necessary terms are addressed in a settlement and protect you from future litigation.
4. Help Manage Your Emotions – While a divorce lawyer is not a substitute for a therapist, having a family law attorney represent you can significantly help you emotionally. If you are upset over the divorce it is extremely difficult to focus on the financial and other details and ensure that you get reasonable terms.  A divorce attorney can help you by objectively guiding you through the process and not letting you agree to a poor deal because you are feeling emotionally overwhelmed.
5. Rights to Your Children – Sound advice regarding the terms concerning your rights to your children is invaluable as you go through a divorce.  The only person qualified to give you advice in this area is an experienced divorce lawyer.
6. Proper Preparation of Decree and Transfer Documents – An experienced family law attorney will not only get your case settled if possible, they will prepare the Final Decree (the court order that divorces you, divides property, and delineates the parties’ rights and duties to their children), as well as all the related transfer documents.  Needless to say, the Decree is a very important document that needs to be done correctly. The transfer documents are also extremely important and often quite complicated.  These can include real estate transfer documents, powers of attorney to transfer vehicles, separate court orders dividing a 401k account, and many others.  If not done properly, these documents can create problems in the future.

I could go on with many other reasons why it is important to hire a good lawyer to represent you in your divorce, but I think this short list will make it clear that you really don’t want to try to handle your own divorce.  There is far too much at stake to take that kind of chance.

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