How To Find A Good Santa Clarita Divorce Lawyer

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

If you read our articles about divorce in Santa Clarita, California, you know that we only recommend you hire a divorce attorney as a last resort.

I came across an attorney blog who had written a great post on how to find a good divorce lawyer in California, and I wanted to add my insights and comments.  You can find the link at the end of this article to the blog in question.

We would never say not to consult with an attorney if you need legal advice, we are just simply saying that most divorce cases in California don’t require an attorney.

That said, there are just some folks that will need an attorney for their divorce in Santa Clarita. The question becomes, how do you go about hiring a divorce attorney in Santa Clarita?

I found this article to be well written and address several things you should consider when deciding on what divorce attorney to choose.

One thing to consider is that every divorce firm in Santa Clarita, CA runs their office slightly different. I would know. I have work for and with most of the divorce lawyers in Santa Clarita in one fashion or another.

Some of the divorce attorneys in Santa Clarita are what you call “Solo Practitioner’s” who work by themselves and may or may not have a paralegal in their office.  These types of attorney’s will generally be answering their own phone and handling all the paperwork on their own.

To the other extreme, you have large family law firms in Santa Clarita, CA that have multiple attorney’s working for them, multiple paralegals and receptionist, etc.

One thing I would add to this article about how to hire a divorce attorney in Santa Clarita is that you have to trust your gut.

Use the ideas and thoughts in this article, but at the end of the day go with the attorney you feel will be right for you.

Here is the article if you were interested in learning more.

Divorce Attorneys | Looking For Santa Clarita Divorce Attorneys?

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

Most People Think They Need A Divorce Attorney Or Divorce Lawyer For Their Divorce.  They Are Wrong!

If you are looking for a divorce attorney, divorce lawyer or family law lawyer (yeah, they are all the same thing) you are going to want to read this.  If you are a divorce attorney, I would not suggest you read this as you will probably be mad at me for letting people in on these facts.

So I know you are thinking about divorce or perhaps are involved in a divorce now.  You may be considering hiring a divorce lawyer or are wondering if you need one or not.  The reason I know this is that you would not be on this page if you weren’t.

Here is a quick video where we discuss your options for divorce assistance.

Here are a few statistics for you to chew on.

Only 5% Of Divorce Cases Ever Go To Trial

There are only two ways a divorce ends in California.  You either settle out of court or you go to trial.  And with so few cases actually going to trial, there is a good chance that your case is one of the 95% that will settle out of court.

85% Of All Divorce Cases Filed Are Done So Without An Attorney

The divorce process is one where you can represent yourself.  A divorce lawyer is not necessary.  But many people are not aware of the fact that they can represent themselves during divorce.  Those that do, don’t have the time or willingness to do it themselves.

Many People Are Not Aware Of Alternatives To A Divorce Attorney

People have been conditioned to think of an attorney when they think of divorce.  What’s the first thing you think of when I say divorce?  Attorney, Right?  It is probably one of the most searched for terms on the internet as it pertains to the word, “divorce”

But there are alternatives to divorce lawyers and attorneys.

Legal Document Preparation Specialists Are The Answer

We are a licensed and bonded legal document preparation firm that specializes in divorce.  We can complete your divorce from start to finish for one flat fee.

We can do everything a divorce lawyer can do except for give you legal advice and represent you in court.  But with the statistics I mentioned above, there is very little chance you will need it.

But What If You Do Need Legal Advice?

But if you do need some legal advice, you can simply go to an attorney for a consultation.  Read this article where we discuss how you can use our services and then get a attorney consultation only when you need legal advice.

Before you run out and hire and attorney, we recommend you call our divorce service to see if we can help you.  Chances are you will not need an attorney and you will not need to spend thousands of dollars for your divorce case.

We Have Helped 1000’s Of Clients Complete Their Divorce

We have helped thousands of clients get through their divorce without the need for a divorce lawyer.  Our clients come from all walks of life and income levels.  But there is one common theme among them.

None of them want to spend thousands of dollars on their divorce.

Call us today to discuss your options with your divorce.  We will be the first people to tell you if we think you need an attorney.  And if you do, we would be happy to refer you to an experienced divorce attorney.

 

Are You Working With A Divorce Solo Practitioner Attorney | Santa Clarita Divorce

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

When it comes to family law attorneys in the Santa Clarita valley, you only have a handful of choices.  Don’t get me wrong, there are still plenty out here, but it is still a small community.

Many divorce attorneys in the Santa Clarita Valley are what you call “Solo Practitioners”.  This means that they practice alone without a partner attorney.  In most cases, this also means that they do not have any staff such as a receptionist or paralegal to assist them.

This brings me to the topic I wanted to address.  If you are working with a solo practitioner who does not have a staff or paralegal assisting them, you are going to end up paying the attorney’s hourly rate for everything that is done on your divorce case.

Case in point.  I had a new client that had me file their divorce case.  She just wanted to file the petition and get things started with our company because she felt there was a good chance she would need a divorce attorney down the road.

So we filed the summons and petition and had her spouse served.  She then went on a consultation with a divorce attorney in Santa Clarita.  The divorce attorney was a solo practitioner with no staff or paralegal to assist him.  So she asked what his hourly rate is.  He responded that he charges $300 per hour.

The next step for her was to complete her financial disclosures.  This is hardly a process that requires and attorney to prepare.  What shocked me was that the attorney actually advised her to continue working with us to prepare her financial disclosures because it would be cheaper.

If she was to use this attorney’s services at this point, she would be looking at spending around $1,500 to complete her financial disclosures.  We can do that for a fraction of that cost.

I have talked about this many times in the past.  There is no reason to hire an attorney until you need them for legal advice or to represent you in court.

This client did exactly what someone should do who is looking to save money on their divorce, even if they need an attorney.  She hired our divorce legal to get the process started.  She had us file the summons and petition and have her spouse served.  We are preparing her financial disclosures and serving those as wel and are completing the filing with the court.

Now she can take her completed documents over to her attorney who can now litigate her divorce if necessary.  For more information you can read the article where we discuss having us start your divorce in Santa Clarita even if you know you will need an attorney by clicking on this link.

Ditch Your Attorney And Start Your Santa Clarita Divorce With Us

Posted by Tim Blankenship on

So you know you are going to get divorced and need some help. But who do you go to? Attorney? Mediator? Divorce document preparation company?

The answer really depends on your situation. Or does it?

The first reaction to thinking about divorce is to consider getting an attorney. But in this article we want to make a suggestion that will save you some money on your divorce.

This article is for folks who feel they will, at some point, need an attorney for their divorce. This means that you feel that no matter what, you will need someone to represent your interests and there is no way you and your spouse are going to agree on everything.

Under this assumption that you will need an attorney for your divorce, do you feel that you need to start your divorce case with an attorney? Why not start your Santa Clarita Divorce using our divorce document preparation service instead and save some money on your divorce.

Attorneys do two things. They represent you in court and give legal advice. Do you need either one of these right away? Perhaps you need an attorney consultation about your divorce, but very few cases, if any, go immediately to court.

The initial steps to divorce are all about completing paperwork. Filing out forms, filling them with the court and completing mostly procedural steps such as serving the divorce papers on your spouse. Using an attorney to complete the routine tasks can cost you a small fortune.

What we suggest is this. Go ahead and get a divorce consultation with an attorney. Get your legal questions answered. Then give us a call so we can start the divorce for you. We will prepare your summons and petition, file it with the court and assist you in getting your spouse served. Then, we would help you prepare your financial disclosures. These two steps do not require a law degree so why would you pay lawyer fees for this service?

We estimate the time it takes to complete these 2 steps if done with an attorney to about 5 hours of work. If you take the average cost of a divorce attorney at say $300 per hour, you are looking at $1,500 just to get these initial documents prepared. Wouldn't you rather spend that money on your attorney when he or she is doing what they do best, instead of paying them to prepare forms?

What you do is ultimately up to you. We just wanted to throw this out there for you to consider.

As licensed and bonded legal document assistants specializing in divorce in Santa Clarita, we help people save money on their divorce. Let us get you as far as we can before you spend the big money on an attorney.

And you never know. Maybe you will find that you never needed a divorce attorney in the first place.