- “My trial is today; can you help me?”
- “I signed an agreement and now I regret it—can I get out of it?”
- “I have a deadline for a response in two hours, can you write it for me?”
- “I just lost my case; can you fix it for me?”
- “I missed the court deadlines and got defaulted. Am going to lose everything—is there anything you can do for me?”
These are all situations we do not want to see you in, and you should hope to avoid entirely. Realistically, at any of these stages, the options have become limited. It is the difference between having a dozen arrows in your quiver or only having one. We agree, this sounds scary. But with proper preparation and time management, many of the issues and anxieties can be avoided
We encounter so many who didn’t talk to an attorney because they didn’t want the divorce; their spouse did—and then, months later, they made a mistake, missed a deadline, or didn’t respond to formal discovery requests. They either have lost or are on the verge of losing their case. They call us in a panic to reverse the unfortunate ruling.
Nine times out of ten, if they had spoken with or used an attorney earlier on what was done was easily preventable. Now it’s an uphill fight to undo a decision that has already been made. Being well informed and continuing to evolve your plan can save you stress, time, and even costs.
Similar to people who skip their annual checkup, and the cancer that could have been caught early is now Stage 4 when it’s discovered. Can they be saved? Yes, but it is much, much more difficult than if it was caught earlier.
You have so much on the line in a divorce, including your children, your house, your retirement, your car. The most sensible step you can take is to speak with an attorney.
People who wait to speak to an attorney often find themselves in trouble. The judicial system is highly complex and nearly impossible to navigate for someone who isn’t familiar with it. There are petitions, motions, service rules, mailing certificates, disclosure, discovery, deadlines, resolution conferences, status conferences, exhibits, pretrial statements, direct examination, cross examination, objections, experts, subpoenas, depositions, etc.
If you don’t have an attorney to captain your ship, you are easily lost at sea. The best thing you can do is speak with an attorney now.
