Lawyers Outside the Court RoomLawyers Outside the Court Room


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Lawyers Outside the Court Room

If you need to go to court, then you certainly want to hire a good attorney to represent you and plead your case in front of a judge. But what if you have a disagreement with a company or another person that has not yet escalated to being a legal matter? It can still beneficial to hire an attorney. They can work as a mediator or arbitrator, helping the two parties to come to an agreement outside of the court room. We think more people deserve to know about the in-court and out-of-court services that general attorneys offer, which is why we founded this website.

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What You Should Know About Divorce

The divorce process is often littered with misconceptions. Before you discuss the end of your marriage with a divorce lawyer, you should learn a bit about these four aspects of getting a divorce.

1. It Is a Lawsuit

Getting a divorce is not just moving paperwork around; it's a lawsuit. One of the two partners in a marriage is petitioning the court to end it. In the vast majority of cases, the cited reason for suing to end the marriage is irreconcilable differences. This is an open-ended statement that can mean almost anything from one partner got bored to someone engaged in physical abuse. Although it might matter in related legal proceedings, a divorce court rarely cares how extreme or minor the reason is for ending a marriage.

2. A Divorce Lawyer Serves One Person

The job of a divorce lawyer requires the attorney to be what's called a zealous advocate. This means they must solely represent the interests of one person, and they must do so to maximally protect their rights. You can't share the same attorney with your spouse. Therefore, whether you or your partner wants a divorce, you need to work with a divorce lawyer. 

3. Someone Has to Be Served Papers

Even if both sides agree to end the marriage, someone has to be the petitioner. The converse is also true in that someone has to be served papers for the divorce. Notably, nothing moves ahead until papers have been served. It is possible in odd cases where one partner appears to have fled that the petitioner can move forward, but that only happens after they've made a good-faith effort to find and serve the other party. If someone has a good reason why they can't receive the papers right away, the court will usually tolerate the delay. A good reason usually includes something like being out of the state on business or serving overseas in the military.

4. The Process Is Unstoppable

Unless the petitioner withdraws the suit, the marriage is going to end. To the extent that this may or may not happen quickly, it mostly depends on what the laws are in the state where the case was filed. Some states require cooling-off periods that can take months or even a couple of years. This is meant to give both sides a chance to pause and decide whether they want to end things. However, it's impossible to stop the process without the consent of the filing party.