Why Hire A Divorce Attorney

Divorce

Jason Marquez, Colorado Family Law Attorney

Much like a marriage, a divorce involves hours and hours of preparation, stress management, organization and emotional fortuity. Just like you trust a wedding planner to make it all happen, you probably want to retain a divorce attorney to guide you. They help you navigate the complex laws that apply to domestic relations, which vary by county and often by individual judges. Although a licensed professional family law attorney can assist with most of the divorce process, it requires a substantial contribution by individual clients. Here are three of the more burdensome steps in the process and the estimated time involved.

1.Â Â Â Â Â The mandatory disclosures process requires the parties to exchange financial information and documents that often require extensive research, locating obscure documents and digging through storage. The applicable time period to complete this process is forty (40) days that begins on or about the date the summons for dissolution is filed or served.

2.Â Â Â Â Â The discovery process, if applicable to a particular case, generally involves two significant endeavors. The first includes Requests for Production of Documents, which requires the disclosure of all kinds of documents up to and sometimes more than three years old (i.e. bank statements, check stubs, stock certificates and much more). The process is not that dissimilar from the mandatory disclosure process but more in depth. One ofÂ other primary discovery tool includes Interrogatories, which are questions that the parties may propound to each other to elicit all kinds of information that may be significant to the case. The parties generally have thirty (30) days to complete this process.

3.Â Â Â Â Â Often times, divorce cases require the involvement of expert witnesses. One common expert is the Child and Family Investigator. Expert witnesses perform various forms of evaluation and analysis and ultimately provide a report to the parties expressing their findings and often their opinions. The use of experts requires approximately sixty (60) days in a divorce proceeding.

Although all of these steps can run concurrently, each has the ability of extending the period of time it takes to get a divorce. No two cases are the same and it is difficult to predict how much time and effort a divorce will require. However, a qualified attorney can improve the efficiency and strategy involved and often times the outcome. The question then becomes, â€œWhy Not Hire A Divorce Attorney?â€ Thatâ€™s a question generally answered by a free consultation.