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How to prepare financially for your Texas divorce, Part One

A divorce case is enough to cause any person to feel a great deal of anxiety. You are considering whether or not to make a decision that will have a profound impact on your children, yourself, and your spouse/partner. No matter what your particular circumstances are you need to be able to understand the issues that are in play- not only in your life but in Texas family law. How will your life change as a result of your family law case having been filed? What do you need to do to prepare? What does a family law case even look like?

Over the next week or so I am going to walk you through exactly what you need to know to achieve whatever results you are aiming toward in your family law case from a financial perspective. While no particular result can be guaranteed, I can almost promise you that if you are not aware of the issues at play in your case that you will be unable to achieve whatever goals you have created for yourself. What you do and do not do during your case can have long-lasting impacts.

A word on hiring the right lawyer for your divorce case

When it comes to selecting an attorney to represent you in a divorce case it is important to note that family law is not just some category of legal cases that I made up today to write a blog post. Rather, family law is just real estate, medical malpractice, business litigation, intellectual property, or any other subdivision of the law. We have attorneys who have practiced their whole careers in family law, like those with the Law Office of Bryan Fagan. We also have attorneys who have never set foot in a courtroom who will tell you that they are equipped to handle your family case.

Your job is to be able to interview attorneys to be able to figure out which is which. Many attorneys will tell you that they can handle your divorce. Simply having a law degree, however, is insufficient to be able to understand all of the subtleties of a divorce case. If you drive a certain make of car then you would likely want to seek out a mechanic who works on that sort of vehicle. The same can be said for an attorney- do not hire an attorney who has never handled a family case. Their inexperience will likely come back to haunt you.

Keeping yourself in the right frame of mind during your family case

If you have not already noticed, you are very likely not to be yourself during a family case. Your attention is being diverted to a dozen issues all at once, first of all. Your kids, your spouse, your job, your mortgage, yourself, your extended family, your legal concerns, etc. On and on I could go. My point is that you are a bit scatterbrained like now. That isn’t likely to stop once your case is filed, either. Adding into this equation a variable concerning financial problems will only add to that stress.

Additionally, your emotions are being thrown around by a process that you do not have as much control over as you would like. In my years as a family attorney, I have seen good, decent people act in ways that would be unrecognizable to their family and friends. As long as you are taking care of your kids and yourself there is nothing wrong with feeling like your life is a little out of control at the moment. In many ways, that would be an accurate representation.

If you do feel this way, selecting the right attorney can make a world of difference. Keep in mind that the more support you have- whether from your attorney, friends, or family- the more likely you are to be able to make good decisions and not let those emotions overcome you in important parts of your life and family case.

Know where your case is in the family law case timeline

Being able to meet with potential clients of the Law Office of Bryan Fagan in free of charge consultations allows me to come into contact with many different sorts of people whose cases are at various points in the family law case timeline. Some folks have cases that have not yet begun. They are considering whether or not to file a case in the first place. Others have been served with a child custody or divorce lawsuit and need a response. Still, others have been involved in their case for months and are exploring the possibility of hiring an attorney for the first time. It is important to know where your case is from a time management perspective because the less time spent in the courts, the less money you stand to spend on your case.

The fact that your case is not a single day in court, but is rather a multiple-month process can come as a shock to many people who are considering a family law case. Stories from friends and television/movies make family cases seem like they all come down to a one-day court appearance for all the marbles. Let’s talk about why this is not true.

A divorce case or child custody case is much more akin to a process than a one-day event. While you will certainly have days that are important in your case- mediations (we will talk more about what mediation is later), hearings, a trial, etc.- your case is mostly full of days where nothing formal is going on. Many days will go by without any updates from your attorney. The reason for that is that things do not happen in your case every day. Most of the time there will not be anything going on in your case. Your attorney and your opposing party’s attorney may be negotiating or figuring out what is coming next in your case, but there will seem like there is a lot of downtime in your case.

My point in telling you all this is not to discourage you from filing a family law case. On the contrary, I am telling you this to inform you of what you are likely to encounter so that you are not unprepared. Knowing what is coming down the pike in your case should cause you to feel empowered and ready to go. You will meet setbacks, frustrating events, and a lot of downtime in your case. Better to know that now than to be surprised later on.

Interview lawyers early and often- before your case even begins

Please do not wait until your spouse has filed a divorce against you or until your ex-girlfriend unenrolls your kids from school and takes them to another state to be closer to the family before you decide to start speaking to an attorney. If you get the feeling in your gut that there are problems in your family it is worth your while to at least speak to an experienced family law attorney about them. Maybe you seek counseling with your spouse and solve those issues. But if a divorce needs to be filed it is worth your while to know how to move forward quickly if the need arises.

Most family law cases come down to several factors that you will be working to be decided in your favor. At the same time, your spouse will be doing the same thing. This is the tricky part of a legal case- there is somebody who is actively working to stop you from doing what you would like to. I can’t think of any other profession (other than athletics) where you have an opposing party constantly playing defense against you as we see in the law.

Let’s examine the factors that will be in play for your divorce or child custody case and how best you (and your attorney) can manage them.

Handling the length of time that you will be involved in a family law case

I’ve already mentioned that family law cases are not just a one-trial type of event, but are rather a month-long event. You need to know that your case is going to take at least a few months. You will need to know that your work and personal life schedules will likely be impacted to an extent. You also need to know that there are probably going to be a few days where you need to take off work. The key to all of this is that it is a temporary change and life will return to normal.

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to predict the length of time that your family law case will last. Most divorces take at least two months. The reason for this is that it is a state law that from the day a divorce petition is filed until the day it can be finalized must be at least sixty days. The reason for this is that the state wants to give you and your spouse ample time to think about whether or not you want to get a divorce.

Your case may not last much longer than two months if there are not that many issues to sort out between you and your spouse. It will also be sped up if you and your spouse can negotiate and settle the issues of your case rather than having to go to contested hearings and trials. Quick cases have clients who are willing to meet the other halfway and attorneys who work to get those agreements drafted into orders quickly for the review and signature of their clients.

With that said, you play a huge part in how quickly your family law case can be resolved. To begin with, you need to be able to provide evidence to your attorney early on in your case that could be instrumental in resolving the case quickly. Providing organized financial documents, for instance, can help your attorney get an accurate and complete picture of the financial status of you and your spouse. This can lead to relatively easy discussion and negotiation on property issues related to your case.

On the other hand, there will be some information and evidence that you provide to your attorney that will not be relevant to your case. These may be text messages, Facebook posts, or photos that you have been holding onto for years just in case you go through a divorce. Keep in mind that you are in charge of your case, but your attorney is the one who has the experience in presenting evidence to judges and mediators. If your attorney does not believe a piece of evidence is relevant you should ask why he or she holds that belief.

Next, you must take into consideration ahead of time that your divorce will require a certain degree of time commitment. When you get off of work it is not time to slump down on the couch and feel bad for yourself. Instead, use that time to collect and organize documents that your attorney will need later on. I can tell you know that tax returns, pay stubs, 401(k) statements, and bank account information will almost certainly be requested by your attorney later in your case. Do yourself a favor and collect and organize these documents now. You can save yourself money and time by doing so.

Questions? Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan

Thank you for choosing to spend part of your day with us today. If you have any questions about the content 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. We can answer your questions and address your issues directly in a comfortable, pressure-free environment.

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Other Articles you may be interested in:

  1. What is and Why do I need to do Discovery in my Texas Divorce?
  2. You’ve filed your Divorce… now what? The “Discovery Process” and why it’s important
  3. 6 things You Need to Know Before You File for Divorce in Texas
  4. I Want a Texas Divorce but My Husband Doesn’t: What can I do?
  5. Am I Married? – Marital Status in Texas
  6. Can I sue my spouse’s mistress in Texas?
  7. 6 Tips – On How to prepare for a Texas Divorce
  8. Roadmap of Basic Divorce Procedure in Texas
  9. 6 Mistakes that can Destroy Your Texas Divorce Case
  10. Does it Matter who Files First in a Texas Divorce?

Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC | Spring Divorce Attorneys

The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC routinely handles matters that affect children and families. If you have questions regarding divorce, it’s important to speak with one of our Spring, TX Divorce Attorneys right away to protect your rights.

Our divorce attorneys in Spring TX are skilled at listening to your goals during this trying process and developing a strategy to meet those goals. Contact the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC by calling (281) 810-9760 or submit your contact information in our online form. The Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC handles Divorce cases in Spring, TexasCypressSpringKleinHumble, KingwoodTomballThe Woodlands, the FM 1960 area, and surrounding areas, including Harris CountyMontgomery CountyLiberty County, Chambers CountyGalveston CountyBrazoria CountyFort Bend County, and Waller County.

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At the Law Office of Bryan Fagan, PLLC, the firm wants to get to know your case before they commit to work with you. They offer all potential clients a no-obligation, free consultation where you can discuss your case under the client-attorney privilege. This means that everything you say will be kept private and the firm will respectfully advise you at no charge. You can learn more about Texas divorce law and get a good idea of how you want to proceed with your case.

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