With so much at stake in your divorce you will want to make the right decision at every possible opportunity. While it may not be possible to have the “perfect” divorce and make all the right decisions every time you can minimize the opportunities for you to make mistakes and suffer the consequences by hiring the right divorce attorney for your case. The attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan are fortunate enough to be able to work with families like yours across southeast Texas in their family law matters and we consider it to be a privilege to stand side by side with people just like you as they go through divorces.
We have been privileged to be able to advocate on behalf of neighbors here in the Houston area. One of the benefits that we have been able to see happen for our firm over our years of practicing law is that the experiences that we have gained from being in the trenches alongside clients provide us with perspectives that can assist those of you who have not yet begun their cases. Rather than worry about problems that you may encounter during a divorce why not take the time to walk through a blog post like this? You can gain important information and learn something about an important aspect of Texas divorces.
Specifically, I would like to spend some time today discussing what factors are most important when it comes to hiring a divorce attorney. This is one of the most critical parts of divorce and yet some folks tend to gloss over the details that went into how they hired a lawyer. You should be fully cognizant of what is important when it comes to hiring a lawyer. You are choosing someone who will be your advocate in an area that you probably don’t know much about. As we mentioned at the beginning of today’s blog post there is a lot at stake in your divorce. You will want to try your best to minimize mistakes throughout your case. Choosing the right attorney for your case is one of the first decisions that you will encounter in the case. Your job will be to identify the factors that are most important and make decisions that can most benefit you and your family.
We welcome you to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan today if you have any questions about a divorce or the information that you have read in today’s blog post. Our attorneys are enthused to be able to serve our clients every day and we want you to know that our doors are open to you if you are entering into a divorce or just thinking through your options. In a free-of-charge consultation with one of our experienced family law attorneys, you can have a discussion not only about Texas family law but about how the law will impact you and your circumstances.
Every divorce is different. No matter how similar the two cases appear to be, our attorneys can tell you that the specific circumstances of your life will cause your divorce to be different than any other. For that reason, the attorney that you hire must be able to help you identify the areas of a case that are most important and then move forward to help you plan for your case and advocate effectively for yourself. You can learn about your case in a free-of-charge consultation with our attorneys. We are available to speak with you in person, over the phone, and via video six days a week. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan has offices in Houston, Humble, and Kingwood to better serve you conveniently and confidentially.
Experience matters when hiring a divorce attorney
There are many moving pieces and factors to consider in a divorce case. Let’s begin by assuming that you are the parent to minor children. For instance, if you have two children under the age of 18 then conservatorship, custody, and possession of those children will be issued in your divorce. That’s not to mention that you will also have to consider child support, medical support, and a host of other topics related to the kids. These factors will require that you and your spouse work through these issues diligently and come to conclusions that will allow you to draft enforceable child custody orders that will be a part of your final decree of divorce. This is a tall order for even an experienced family law attorney to be able to assist you.
Making sure that you have thought through all the factors associated with custody of your kids is a critical step to be able to take in your divorce. If you make a wrong decision, then you risk your children having a bad experience in their post-divorce lives. Remember how stability and consistency are so important to the development of children. When you stunt their development by having them go through custody exchanges that are not smooth or even need them to spend more time in vehicles traveling than with either parent in a nurturing environment then you are talking about how your family will not be able to take full advantage of the time that you all have with your children.
This is to say nothing of issues like child support. If you are a non-custodial parent of your child after the divorce, then you will be responsible for paying child support most likely. The calculation of child support depends in large part on your net monthly income as well as the number of children that are before the court. However, if you own a business, have multiple jobs, or are disabled then you may be in a situation where it is easier said than done when it comes to calculating your income and coming up with a fair child support number. If you make a mistake in this regard, it may be years before you can come back to the court and ask them to reconsider and change the amount that you are obligated to pay your co-parent.
On the other side of the ledger, we have property issues. Texas is a community property estate which means that it is likely most of the property that you own is subject to division in the divorce. It does not matter if your income was used to purchase, finance, or otherwise acquire a particular item. Your spouse owns that property just as much as you do if it was purchased or acquired during your marriage (with a few exceptions). As a result, you may be looking at a more significant property-related case than you were led to believe. Do not underestimate the extent to which property matters even in a relatively straightforward divorce case.
What we also see a great deal of when it comes to community property division in a divorce are questions about how to divide up large assets like homes, rental properties, retirement accounts, and other investments. These questions go beyond relatively simple decisions that you must make regarding how personal property like household items and even vehicles must be divided up. When it comes to very large assets or properties like homes you need to know the law but also how the law will impact your life. Division of the community estate in your case is not a subject that can be done over. For the most part, once you get property divided in the divorce that is the way it will be moving forward.
The topics and issues that we have discussed in today’s blog post are only the tips of the iceberg when it comes to divorce. You will be tasked with navigating these topics under a great deal of pressure and with a limited amount of time and resources. If you could take all the time in the world to solve these problems, then you would probably see better outcomes not only in your divorce but in every divorce filed in Texas. Additionally, if you had all the money in the world then you and your spouse could probably solve more issues related to your case and resolve to reach different conclusions based on your newfound wealth.
Unfortunately, since I don’t think the odds are in your and your spouse’s favor to win the lottery over the next few weeks, you will have to make do with what you have in front of you. While you may not have every resource in the world available to you in this divorce you do have the opportunity to gain an extremely important resource- that of an experienced family law attorney. Being able to lean on the support of an experienced family law attorney can be the most critical advantage that you can gain for yourself and your family in the divorce. As I am fond of telling clients and potential clients alike- hiring an attorney is a short-term investment into your long-term future.
Once you start looking in earnest for a divorce attorney you will find that there are many options available to you. Houston and southeast Texas generally does not suffer from a lack of attorneys. As a result, there are a lot of people that will be more than happy to take a few moments to tell you why he or she is the right person to represent your family in a divorce. These are probably well-meaning lawyers who truly do believe that they have what it takes to advocate for you and your family in a divorce. However, there are some considerations that you need to make when it comes to the experience level of the attorney.
For one, you should consider whether the attorney practices primarily or completely in family law. What I mentioned to you earlier about how much experience the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan have gained over the years is no exaggeration. You can look at our website and see how many attorneys we employ and what kind of experience the office has both on an individual level with each attorney and also on a collective level with all our experiences combined. You can be the most diligent and eager lawyer in the world and all those positive qualities do not make up for a lack of experience. You will need to be able to take the experiences of your attorney and use them to your advantage. Unfortunately, few attorneys have the practical experience that the Law Office of Bryan Fagan can.
What does that mean to you? Choosing your attorney can mean the difference between a favorable divorce result and an unfavorable one, nobody is going to tell you that hiring a certain attorney is going to turn your divorce into a fun experience. After all, we are still talking about a divorce. However, it is true that with so much riding on the experience of your divorce, you will want to minimize the opportunities for mistakes to be made. Think of your own experiences in your job. Did you make more mistakes when you were just starting out or after you had been in your career for five years? The same applies to an attorney. Some events will occur in divorce cases that nobody could see coming. However, there are also events that an experienced family law attorney can see coming from a mile away that a less experienced attorney won’t see until it is too late. Even then, an attorney with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan will be able to help you recover from these sorts of occurrences and not allow them to define your case moving forward.
Experience means creativity
When it comes to an experience in a divorce case, the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan will not only be able to help you avoid mistakes in your case, but we will also be able to help you think creatively and outside the box in settlement negotiations. Did you know that most divorce cases in Texas settle in mediation rather than rely upon a family court judge to make a series of orders? With that said, how well you can negotiate with your spouse matters when it comes to a divorce. Negotiations are not just exercises for you and your spouse to go through before a trial. Rather, negotiations represent the bulk of a divorce case. You can avoid costly trials and other courtroom appearances simply by being able to effectively negotiate your case.
What many attorneys lack in experience shines through in their lack of creativity. When an attorney cannot see all the options available to you that is when you suffer. More options mean more decision-making power and better overall outcomes. Have you ever felt trapped between two bad options at some point in your life? I know it can be a helpless feeling to have to tell yourself, “Darned if I do, darned if I don’t.” However, if you can have options then you can feel better about the decisions that you make.
There are countless options available to you and your spouse when it comes to dividing up time with your children. The more creative your attorney can be when it comes to negotiating a possession schedule that works well for you and your family the better off your children will be. Sure, there are standard possession orders contained in the Texas family code that could potentially serve your family well. However, if your attorney can consider creative options in dividing up time between you and your Co-parent then your children can be even better equipped to transition into a circumstance where they are sharing time in two different households.
Additionally, when it comes to dividing up Community property a creative family law attorney can help you to think outside the box and reach equitable conclusions when it comes to property division. An inexperienced family law attorney or an attorney who does not practice family law would not be able to consider all these options because he or she has never had the opportunity to work their way through cases involving unique circumstances. As a result, the options that he or she has for you in your case will be limited.
All of this is to say that experience matters when you are hiring a divorce attorney. There is no substitute for having an experienced advocate for your case. A fancy office or business suit cannot make up for a lack of experience. If you can take every opportunity to look past factors like these and focus on the experience of the attorney that you are speaking with, I believe that you will agree. There is no better resource available to you in Southeast Texas in a divorce than the attorneys with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan.
Questions about the material contained in today’s blog post? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan
if you have any questions about the material contained in today’s blog post, please do not hesitate to contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. Our licensed family law attorneys offer free-of-charge consultations six days a week in person, over the phone, and via video. These consultations are a great way for you to learn more about the world of Texas family law as well as about how your family’s circumstances may be impacted by a divorce or child custody case.
Bryan Fagan, a native of Atascocita, Texas, is a dedicated family law attorney inspired by John Grisham’s “The Pelican Brief.” He is the first lawyer in his family, which includes two adopted brothers. Bryan’s commitment to family is personal and professional; he cared for his grandmother with Alzheimer’s while completing his degree and attended the South Texas College of Law at night.
Married with three children, Bryan’s personal experiences enrich his understanding of family dynamics, which is central to his legal practice. He specializes in family law, offering innovative and efficient legal services. A certified member of the College of the State Bar of Texas, Bryan is part of an elite group of legal professionals committed to ongoing education and high-level expertise.
His legal practice covers divorce, custody disputes, property disputes, adoption, paternity, and mediation. Bryan is also experienced in drafting marital property agreements. He leads a team dedicated to complex family law cases and protecting families from false CPS allegations.
Based in Houston, Bryan is active in the Houston Family Law Sector of the Houston Bar Association and various family law groups in Texas. His deep understanding of family values and his professional dedication make him a compassionate advocate for families navigating Texas family law.
