It is probably not something one contemplates at the time of the wedding, but divorce is very much a reality for many people- and, subsequently, the need for a divorce attorney. This can be a subject not many people have extensive knowledge of and it might be difficult to know for sure what steps to take or even how to find a divorce lawyer. There can also be the concern of child custody, division of assets, and child support payments among many things. Neither the end of a marriage nor the navigating of divorce are easy things, to be sure, but the following will give some insight on why to get a divorce lawyer.
1) Background to Divorce
Divorce truly can happen to anyone, such is the risk of marriage. However, there are certain consistencies we can point out in the types of people that seek the aid of a divorce attorney. For instance, 30 years old is the average age of couples that are going through their first divorce. This is a notably young age, all the more reason why the aid of legal counsel might be required to help navigate this change. Given the age, it is perhaps not surprising that 81% of divorce lawyers say they’ve seen the increased use of social media during the divorce process, Facebook being a primary choice.
2) No Fault Divorce Law
All the legal red tape of getting a divorce can make one ask themselves, “Do I need a divorce lawyer?” The answer is usually yes, but the good news is that the divorce process has become significantly easier with the introduction of the No Fault Divorce Law, which gives either party the ability to create a divorce lawsuit with just the general claim of “irreconcilable differences”. Prior to 1970, divorce required proof that one or both of the spouses had acted in a way that would result in the destruction of a marriage. This all changed that same year in California with its first passage of the No Fault precaution, preceded only by Oklahoma in 1953. New York is the only remaining state in which no strict no-fault laws exist, so that would be something to keep in mind when communicating with a divorce attorney.
3) Child Support and Custody
Children are indeed the most important reason to seek out the legal aid of a divorce attorney or child custody lawyer. It should be noted that mothers are 79.6% more likely than fathers, at 2.9.6, to be awarded custody, though this obviously doesn’t predict much about the custodial outcome of a same-sex divorce. Fathers that do win custody, however, tend to be either just divorced or separated at 56.2%, 24.5% were either widowed or married at the time of awarded custody, and 20.3% had never been married at all. In terms of child support, 18% of monthly income is allocated in the event of one child and as much as 20% when there are two.
As has been made evident, hiring a divorce attorney is a critically important choice to making the divorce process as seamless as possible.