What Are the Top Misconceptions People Have About Working with A Divorce Attorney?

A lot of people believe that the attorney can solve all their problems, which we can’t. We can’t solve the emotional problems and we can’t solve some of the problems that people really need to take responsibility for themselves. What we can do, is get them divorced, make sure that they have the best rights available with their children and try to maximize what their property settlement amount would be or make the best decisions as far as their house or belongings and what they pay.

Misconceptions generally are when people walk into a lawyer’s office thinking that all their problems will be solved and all we can do is solve the legal problems and divorce.  There are a lot of other issues that people have to deal with.

Do People Generally Try To Handle Divorce Without An Attorney?

A surprising amount of divorces are filed pro se. The court provides people with the basic documents, they fill out the forms and then they take you into court. The problem with that is the divorces are court cases and you have to comply with certain rules and certain deadlines and if you don’t, you can be basically hung out to dry. A lot of times, what will happen with people who file their own divorces, is they end up getting divorced but they don’t always get their property issues settled and a lot of times custody issues are not really settled or brought forward correctly either.

Common Reason People Have For Wanting A Divorce

It’s hard to put everything in one little pigeonhole.  Sometimes the reasons for divorce are financial, other times it is due to family conflict and sometimes it’s just that certain people shouldn’t have been married in the first place and they now realize that.

Is A Specific Reason Required To File For Divorce In Maryland?

Maryland has a few different listings for divorce. You have to list a specific reason but one of the most common reasons is voluntary separation where both people agree to separate and live apart and after waiting the time period on that, they can get essentially a no fault divorce.

Is An Actual Legal Separation Necessary Prior To Filing For Divorce In Maryland?

You must have grounds for divorce so typically most judges will not grant a divorce if people are living under the same roof. However, there are other ways to get a divorce.  Adultery is one possibility that can be listed and if you prove that your spouse has committed adultery and the person who’s making that charge has not committed adultery themselves or condoned the adultery to continue, you can file for divorce immediately.  The same is true with cruelty of treatment; default divorces you can generally file and get divorced quicker than going through the waiting period.  Maryland is changing its laws to make it easier to get no fault divorces.

The Typical Divorce Client In The State Of Maryland

We have probably about fifty-fifty between male and female clients. It’s very hard to pick your general typical divorce client because I’ve seen the broad spectrum with those people, just as you would in a lot of civil cases. Every demographic gets divorced; women, men, minorities, you see everybody. It’s a problem or it’s an event that just goes across the spectrum of everyone, so it’s very hard to say what a typical divorce client would be because everybody has their own goals and their own needs and their own reasons.

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