Child Custody: What Do You Ask The Lawyer?

If you’ve never spoken to a lawyer before, the task of finding legal help for your child care concerns may be a bit intimidating at the beginning. There seems to be a significant number of family lawyers to choose from and finding the right one can be quite a challenge. And yet, for those who have had the experience of finding the child custody lawyer to help them, they say that the whole process can be broken down into three simple steps.

Step 1: Gather all the names of potential family lawyers to hire. Some may be recommended by friends and family while others may come from the favorite list online. Either way, you should have a short list of lawyers that you can meet up with until you find the one that’s a perfect fit to what you are looking for. Remember that they should specialize in child custody cases such as yours.

Step 2: Meet with the family lawyer and openly discuss with them about the case. The first meeting is always the most crucial. It will help you decide whether they lawyer you are talking to is someone who knows the intricacies that come with handling child custody cases. Learn more about the lawyer’s background and what they think about the situation that you have at hand.

Step 3: Review the notes that you made out of each meeting you have and decide from there. Hire the lawyer that is best qualified to handle the case. Their experience in dealing with concerning child custody should always be a plus. If you can find someone you feel comfortable talking with and he has the expertise, that’s the perfect fit you are looking for.

How do you prepare to meet with a prospective lawyer for the first time? You have to do your homework before the first meeting. Make a list of questions that you would like to ask. Make sure that it covers all the aspects of your concerns regarding child custody. Below is a list of items you should not fail to ask:

• How long have you been practicing family law?

• Have you handled child custody cases before? What is the turnout?

• Are you a member of any bar and other professional legal associations?

• Do you frequently handle custody cases such as mine?

• How should we go about the situation at hand?

These questions may seem simple, but they are good conversation starters. Also, answering them requires the lawyer to explain more; thus, you can gauge whether he knows how actually to help you. Asking questions will help you learn more about the attorney as well as probable solutions to your child custody dilemma.