Can You Guarantee Me a Fast Divorce?
I'm asked a lot by prospective clients if I can guarantee them a fast divorce. The truth is that there are way too many factors that go into determining how long your case is going to be to that I just can't guarantee that it will be done within a certain amount of time. However, based on my exerience handling similar cases in the past, I should be able to give you a good approximation of how long it will take your case to be resolved.Some of the factors that determine how long it will take to resolve your divorce case in South Carolina are:
- The contested issues in your case. How many there are and what type of issues are they? Are we fighting only about child support or are custody, visitation, and alimony also at issue? Perhaps you and your spouse have already reached a complete agreement about how things will be resolved between you.
- What county are you filing in? Some counties are pretty fast about moving cases through, others are not. This is a factor of the backlog of cases and the number of family court judges in each particular county. Some cases can be done is about 60 days in one county and over 6 months in another so venue is extremely important.
- Who the parties are? Are you and your spouse both stubborn. Do you definitely feel like you won't agree unless it is totally, 100% on your terms? Your and your spouse's willingness to cooperate and compromise are factors in the length of time it takes to get divorced in South Carolina.
If you would like to discuss your particular case, I would love to meet with you at no obligation or cost to you to discuss your South Carolina divorce matter. Our meeting is confidential and free. You may contact me through the "Connect with Us" page or by calling my office directly.
How Do South Carolina Divorce Lawyers Charge for Services
One of the first questions that I am asked by a prospective client is how much is this going to cost me and how can we work out 
payments. Most people even ask this question over the telephone when they are scheduling their initial consultation to meet with me. As a general practice, I do not quote fees on the telephone, because the amount that I quote is based on the complexity and number of issues in your case and the time that I anticipate having to spend on it.Lawyers charge their fees in two main ways when it comes to representing someone in a divorce case: hourly or flat fee billing. There are, I suppose, advantages to both.The tried and true method that most attorneys, especially attorneys who have been out practicing for a while is to charge the client an initial retainer. That retainer is then placed in their trust account and when the attorney has completed work in that case, he bills the client and withdraws the amount of his bill from the client's retainer and places that in his law firm operating account. Generally attorneys will have a minimum amount of money that they require the clients to keep in their trust account and they send a bill every month (or sometimes more often than that).The good thing for the lawyer is that they know they can get paid on a case. The downside for most attorneys is that after the initial payment, many clients do not pay another dime to their attorney even if it has been fairly earned by the divorce lawyer. So many attorneys will make sure that their initial retainer is substantial enough to get them pretty far through your case, if not all the way through, without completely depleting it.You can probably see how this is bad for the prospective client. First, you do not know how much the case is going to cost you. You do, however, know how much it is going to cost you to get started. In this situation, it is almost like writing a blank check to your attorney because in most cases it is difficult for an attorney to judge exactly how long it is going to take him to adequately represent you because there are so many factors an things outside of your lawyer's control. There is also a potential conflict of interest, because you want the lawyer to represent you well, but also not to bill you to death. You lawyer, on the other hand, wants to make a good living and support his family. So he may be interested in nickle and diming you to death on every thing he does in your case.Because of the initial retainer requirement and because many clients do not pay anything more after the lawyer has gotten to work, many divorce attorneys do not allow for payment plans because they want to make sure they get at least their retainer up front.So what's an example of this? An attorney may tell you that in order for you to hire him/her to handle your divorce you would be required to pay a retainer of $3000.00 into their trust account. Then they bill you by the hour for all of the work they and their staff do on your case by the individual who has performed the work's hourly rate. Many divorce attorneys charge between $150 and $300 per hour depending on their experience, ego and other factors. That means that your 15 minute telephone call to check on the status of your case will cost you anywhere from $37.50 to $75. I hope you enjoyed that phone call!Another option for billing in divorce matters is flat fee billing. Flat fee billing is where you know exactly what it is going to cost you to get your divorce up front. Generally, these fees are earned when paid so your attorney will not be billing you by the hour and you won't be entitled to a refund if the case is resolved quickly. On the other side of that coin, however, you won't be billed more if your case is more time consuming than the lawyer initially expected either.Flat fee billing means that you will know when you leave your initial consultation what your divorce is going to cost you. It may be split up into different phases of your case or it may all be due at once.The flat fee may actually give you sticker shock when you first hear the number. It may sound like a crazy quote to handle your divorce case when you compare it to the other attorney who bills by the hour. But when you actually calculate the number of hours the attorney will most likely bill you for, along with the activities you get billed for, and the rate at which your attorney bills his divorce clients (probably $200-300 per hour), it adds up quick and you will most likely surpass the flat fee quote.So, what's an example of flat fee billing? In my office, I handle almost all of my family court matters on a flat fee basis. The amount changes depending on the complexity of the case, but the flat fee frees up my time because I do not have to spend extra time keeping up with how much time I am working on your case. I do not have to worry about sending you a bill each month to collect what you owe me. You do not get billed extra for telephone calls, e-mails, or in-office appointments. It is all included. I typically break my fee up into three phases. The first payment is due when you hire me and is typically 1/3 of the total fee. The second 1/3 payment is usually due 90-120 days into the case and is known as the "discovery phase." This leads us through discovery and mediation. The final phase is the trial phase and it is due 60 days before the initial trial date for your case. The cool thing about the three phases is that if your case settles early on (or before the next phase payment is due) then you do not have to pay any additional fees, so that can encourage you to work towards a settlement in your case if that is a good option for you.Finally, no matter which way your attorney bills, you are almost always going to be responsible for all out of pocket costs. This usually includes court fees, service of process fees, mediation costs, Guardian ad Litem fees, expert fees, subpoena fees, and more.
Do You Need an Attorney to Represent You in Your Divorce
The following article was written by Alabama Family Law Attorney, Michael Sherman, author of the Alabama Family Law Blog.
- Is custody of your children disputed? Even if you are a good parent, you do not want to risk losing custody of your children. A lawyer will help you present a stronger case for custody to the court.
- Has your spouse hired a lawyer? The laws and procedures involved in a divorce are quite complex. Do not let yourself be outmaneuvered by someone who knows the ropes. The court will not protect you when you make errors. Even in an uncontested divorce case, do not make the mistake of thinking that the lawyer your spouse hired can represent both of you. A lawyer is ethically prohibited from representing both sides of a legal dispute (it is called a conflict of interest). If your spouse gets a lawyer to draft a proposed agreement, at least retain a lawyer to review it and make suggested changes on your behalf.
- Do you have significant assets to protect? Obviously, the more you have at stake, the more value you stand to receive from hiring a divorce specialist to represent you. A lawyer will ensure that you pay only a fair amount in support payments and that the property is divided fairly. An experienced lawyer can also minimize the amount of taxes you pay by structuring the property settlement properly.
- Is your spouse claiming spousal support? The area of spousal support is the most uncertain area of divorce law. Alabama does not have guidelines for determining alimony, and courts sometimes come to very different conclusions about how much spousal support should be paid, even on similar facts. Your lawyer will help ensure that the amount of spousal support is fair.
- Do you have a retirement account (and your marriage is 10 years or longer)? For many of my clients, their second most valuable asset after their home is their retirement account. In Alabama, if you have been married for more than 10 years, then the portion of the retirement account that has been acquired during the marriage can be split equally. The law regarding how these accounts should be divided is complicated. Your lawyer will help ensure that it is valued and divided fairly.
- Does your souse tend to dominate you in your relationship? There is an imbalance in power between you and your spouse. If your spouse is domineering or controlling, you will be better off dealing with him or her through a lawyer.
- Are there allegations of domestic violence or child abuse? Even if the allegations are not true, they can have a devastating effect and must be dealt with quickly and appropriately. Do not take such serious allegations lightly.
- Are you unable to communicate effectively with your spouse? You will not be able to settle things with your former spouse if the two of you cannot communicate. You will need a lawyer to help ensure that you get a fair settlement.
- Are you or your spouse self-employed? The valuation of a business is complicated and you will need a lawyer to help with that process. Also, the amount of spousal and child support payments that must be paid is based on income. It is often easy for someone who is self-employed to manipulate income or to hide assets. An experienced lawyer will know how to best try to prove unreported income.
I recognize my own bias on this issue. But, the truth is in only the simplest of divorce cases (i.e. very short-term marriage, no children, no joint property and no joint debts) do I think you should consider not having a lawyer. Even in those cases, if your spouse gets a lawyer to draft the proposed divorce agreement, I recommend you at least pay your own lawyer to review it on your behalf.
And now I'd like to invite you to learn more about Alabama divorce laws, the divorce process and other tips on finding the right divorce lawyer in Alabama when you visit http://www.AlabamaFamilyLawBlog.comFrom Michael Sherman - Alabama Divorce Lawyer, Fellow in the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, and named to The Best Lawyers in America.
Facebook, Social Media and Divorce
So you and your spouse have been separated for a while but neither of you have filed an action. Meanwhile, you've been hanging out on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter. Maybe you've connected with an old flame or maybe you're just bashing your "ex." Whatever you're doing, I want to warn you to be careful. Most of these communications online are open to the public and they are permanent.While your spouse may not be your "friend" on Facebook, that doesn't mean he/she won't be able to find out what's going on on your page through a friend or someone else.This doesn't just apply in divorce cases either! I have worked in child custody matters before where one of the parents who is fighting for custody or fighting to keep custody have posted their party pictures where they are drinking, passed out, drugged or worse. Can you imagine how that looks to a judge?So what are you supposed to do? Abandon Facebook and Twitter altogether? No, I don't think you have to go to that extreme. What I would recommend is that you should use common sense. Keep in mind your current circumstances or what you may be going through in the future (if you think you may be going through a divorce or custody action in the future). You should probably not be putting photos of your children online if you are going through a custody battle and you should definitely refrain from badmouthing or putting down your spouse online. While you may think it is funny or that it really isn't hurting anyone, you better keep in mind your case and the dramatic negative impact it could have on it.While your spouse won't be able to necessarily prove adultery or any wrong doing by your postings the old adage, "where there's smoke, there's fire" is all too true and you definitely don't want a judge making negative assumptions about your case because of some stupid comments or photos on your website or social media page.
Divorce and Estate Planning
It is important for all people to have an estate plan (which may consist only of a Will, power of attorney, and healthcare power of attorney). An estate plan does not have to have a bunch of trusts and family partnerships or anything else - though, these are important tools if the circumstances are correct. When you are married, and particularly if you have children, it becomes extremely important to have an estate plan to ensure the proper transfer of your assets upon your death. A lot of people do not have any type of estate plan and their assets are passed along to their family according to South Carolina law which may be totally opposite of your intentions. But what happens to your estate plan when you divorce?
Divorce and Your Will
As soon as your divorce is final, you any provision leaving anything to your former spouse becomes void. Therefore, your former spouse will no longer inherit from you. Most of the time, that is what people, want, but occasionally, I have run into folks who still want their former spouse to inherit from them. In that case, a new will must be prepared. If you do not have a will, then when you are divorced, you do not have to worry about your former spouse inheriting from you.In any case, after a divorce, I would recommend that you get with an estate planning attorney to have your estate plan reviewed to make sure it still does what you want it to do.
Divorce and Powers of Attorney/Healthcare Powers of Attorney
The law helps you out when you go through a divorce by automatically making provision in your will that your former spouse will not inherit from you (if that's what you want). However, this is not so in the case of a power of attorney. Your power of attorney is filed of public record to put the world on notice that you have someone else who can act on your behalf legally. This notice is good until you officially revoke this power of attorney. So, upon your divorce you should file a revocation of your power of attorney on the public record to make sure that your former spouse cannot legally bind you any longer (if that is your desire). I would also recommend that you put other businesses that would have dealt with your former-spouse on your behalf in the past on notice that she no longer has that power. These businesses would include doctors offices, banks, etc.Your healthcare power of attorney is a little different. This is not put on public record so when you create a new document, you automatically void your prior document. However, you should make sure your healthcare providers have up-to-date copies with your current agents listed so they do not inadvertantly seek information or guidance from your former spouse.
Divorce and Life Insurance/Retirement Accounts
This is the biggie! Once you and your former spouse go through your divorce and all of your assets have been divided (by agreement or by the court) you may be left with your retirement accounts and some life insurance. These documents are considered "non-probate" assets, meaning they pass outside of the probate process and outside of your will because they have beneficiary clauses in them. If you forget to change your beneficiary on these types of accounts, then your former spouse could take your life insurance or retirement account because you forgot to change the beneficiary form. This may be disastrous if you are remarried when you die and leave nothing to your current spouse planning on the life insurance to take care of them. It happens more than you think so be sure you make this change.
What is a Divorce Temporary Hearing
In many divorce cases in South Carolina the first hearing that you will participate in will be the Temporary Hearing. It is called a temporary hearing because you are requesting that the court provide you with some "temporary" relief. "Temporary" means that you this court order will govern your case from the time of the temporary hearing until a final hearing or later order in your case.When you go to the temporary hearing you should know that there is generally no testimony taken at the hearing. So you will not be called to go up to the witness stand and testify about the reason for your divorce or why you need the relief you are requesting. When you go to your temporary divorce hearing you should prepare affidavits from you and your close friends and family that are relevant to the issues in your case. So that may mean that your affidavits need to discuss why you are a better parent or why you should receive custody, child support, alimony, attorney fees, etc. You will also include a financial declaration with your affidavits. You should also note that the different courts and different counties have different rules regarding the number of pages they allow at their temporary hearings. Greenville County caps the number of pages you can have to 8 (not including your financial declaration and attorney fee affidavit).Any questions about the temporary hearing or other procedural issues in your South Carolina divorce case?
I've Been Served with Divorce Papers - What Now?
So you have been served with divorce papers in South Carolina and you don't know what to do? First, you need to make sure that you speak with an attorney immediately. You have a limited amount of time to respond to the claims in the divorce complaint that you were served so you don't need to waste any time meeting with an attorney. It may take you meeting with several attorneys before you find someone you feel comfortable with representing you.If you do not file an answer you may be giving up your right to some relief that you would otherwise be entitled to. In other civil courts in South Carolina not filing an answer and going into default means that you have "agreed" to all of the allegations in the complaint filed against you. While South Carolina family court rules change this rule a little bit in South Carolina Family Courts, it is still not a good idea not to respond. Because the South Carolina Family Court is also a court of equity, the family court will allow you to bring up and argue issues of alimony, property division, child custody, child support and child visitation even if you do not file an answer - but you cannot contest any issue regarding the grounds for divorce.Bottom line: meet with an attorney and retain them as soon as possible after you have been served. If you cannot afford to retain an attorney, you need to make a written response to the complaint that was served against you so you are not assumed to agree with everything it says.
10 Questions to Get Answered Before Hiring Your Divorce Attorney
I have produced a free report entitled, "10 Questions to Get Answered Before Hiring a Divorce Attorney." All you have to do is fill out the form at the top of this page and you will automatically receive a link to download the free report. We will also follow up with you to provide information about the divorce process in our divorce e-course and what you need to know before you go.Please fill out the form and get your FREE Report now!