Divorce can be overwhelming. The good news is you can help your attorney make the transition as smooth as possible. How can I do that? By following this checklist, you can give your attorney the information she needs without having to reach out to you for every piece of information. This will help streamline the process, and shorten the timeline.
Step One: Task Completion
Be sure to completely fill out any intake form, questionnaire, or worksheets sent to you by your attorney. She might even ask you to submit certain documents. To accurately assess your case, it is vital that your attorney have all of the information requested.
Step Two: Evidence
Round up any evidence that you believe supports your case. This might include additional documents, electronically stored information, or tangible things in your possession, custody, or control.
Examples of evidence that might support your divorce case include real property documents, financial information, bank statements, health insurance documents, tax returns, pay stubs, retirement account information, life insurance policies, and vehicle information. You should gather any documents that may reveal your assets or liabilities.
Examples of evidence that might support your custody case include prior court orders, health insurance information (for the kiddos), text messages, social media posts, documents regarding child support, documents from the Office of the Attorney General, documents from Family Court Services, and any documents from the Dep’t of Family & Protective Services.
You should round up this evidence, and submit it to your attorney. Your attorney may have a Client Portal for you to upload the information, or she may ask you to email it. If you are not comfortable with that, you can always bring her a thumb drive or mail the documents to her.
I know this sounds like a burden, so why is it important to collect this information? Because without this information, your attorney cannot do her job. In order to do her job properly, she needs all the facts and evidence you have. I promise she is not judging you or criticizing your life. She simply needs this information to move forward with your case.
Step Three: Witnesses
You should also start thinking about persons with knowledge who could possibly be a witness in the case or provide testimony. Examples of persons with knowledge include family members, neighbors, friends, teachers, coaches, doctors, counselors, financial advisors, or even co-workers.
Step Four: Technology
Get yourself primed to be of assistance in your case. It is important to promptly review anything your attorney sends you. She may send you a document to review, a form to complete, a document to sign, or even an affidavit to notarize. She might also ask you to scan in a document. So how can you make these tasks more convenient? There are little things you can do to help.
First, you can download any free pdf application on your smartphone. This will help you easily review documents on the go. Some pdf viewers include Adobe Acrobat Reader, PDF Viewer, PDF Expert, and Foxit PDF Reader Mobile.
Second, its is important you have the ability to scan in documents. Now, I know that few people have access to scanners in their homes. I didn’t have a scanner until I started my law firm. So how did I deal with scanning documents before then? I downloaded a free scanner application on my smartphone. Some options include Easy Scanner, Document Scanner, Scanner App, and even Adobe Scan.
Third, find a local notary. These days, you can actually notarize most documents online (so long as you have access to a web camera). But it will cost you money. If money is an issue, you should research local notaries in your area, or call your bank to see when they have notaries available. This will make it easy for you to notarize documents efficiently and effectively.
Step Five: Stay Informed
Keep yourself informed about your case. It is so important that you stay in regular contact with your attorney. You can email her, call her, or sometimes even send her a text message. Be sure to know all of the ways you can contact your lawyer, and save that information on your phone.
Step Six: Be Patient
Your attorney is doing everything she can to move your case along, but sometimes there are time delays. Please be patient with your attorney, and understand that the legal process often takes a lot longer then most people expect.
Erinakes Law, PLLC
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