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Should You Change Divorce Attorneys? Information Provided by: Paul L. Feinstein, Esq. Your divorce is the most important financial transaction of your life. There are times when it appears that the case is never going to end and that you have lost confidence in your lawyer. It is important to know whether or not you should change lawyers and if so, what to do. There are certain things to look for to determine whether or not you have the right attorney. That could be summarized as follows: Don't be upset with your lawyer if you lose a hearing, nobody wins them all. Do be upset with your lawyer if he or she is unprepared for the hearing. Don't be upset with your lawyer if he or she forgets a detail about you or your case or cannot answer a legal question. Lawyers are human. Do get upset if this becomes habitual. Don't get upset if your lawyer takes an occasional vacation. Do get upset if the lawyer is commonly unavailable for any purpose. Understand however, that most good lawyers are in court a good deal of time. Don't get upset if your lawyer is occasionally late for court or a meeting. Do get upset if this becomes common. Some lawyers simply have more cases than they can handle and are literally putting out fires on a daily basis. You don't want to be one of the fires. Don't get upset if your lawyer refuses to "hold your hand" constantly. You may simply be demanding too much non-legal service from him or her. Do get upset if the lawyer obviously has no interest in you or your case. You want a lawyer who is confident in his or her ability to try a case. You don't want a lawyer who promises they will "get" your spouse and loses perspective. Your case is about your life, not your lawyer's ego. If you do make the decision to change lawyers, there are number of things you need to know: You need to ask the new lawyer how she or he will get your file from your old lawyer. You need to know how to handle any outstanding legal fees or overpayments made to the first lawyer. You need to let the new lawyer know of any and all court, deposition or important other dates so that lawyer can get ready for you. Then you need to get your new attorney the following information (some you will know, some needs to be obtained from the first attorney): Who is the judge? What has been done and what remains to be done on discovery? Are there any discovery or filing deadlines? What is your personality and what is your spouse's personality? What is the status of settlement (particularly, have any offers been made)? What are you looking for in the case and why has the case not settled? Have any depositions been taken and if so, where are the transcripts? Are there any unusual issues in the case? Keep in mind that your lawyer is not a mind reader. You need to let him or her know what you want in the case and then you should ask for an honest opinion as to whether or not your requests are reasonable. The only measuring stick for whether a case should be settled is, what are you likely to get after a trial. Information Provided by: Paul L. Feinstein, Esq. Was this helpful? Like our site & let us know. Related Articles Basic Attorney/Client Contract Provisions in Divorce Cases Navigate:   Home States Illinois Divorce Source Illinois Divorce Articles, News and Resources Attorney/Client Relationship Should You Change Divorce Attorneys? Start Your Illinois Online Divorce Today Easy, Fast and Affordable with a 100% Guarantee. Find Illinois Divorce Professionals in Your Area: Choose a County! ADAMS ALEXANDER BOND BOONE BROWN BUREAU CALHOUN CARROLL CASS CHAMPAIGN CHRISTIAN CLARK CLAY CLINTON COLES COOK CRAWFORD CUMBERLAND DE WITT DEKALB DOUGLAS DUPAGE EDGAR EDWARDS EFFINGHAM FAYETTE FORD FRANKLIN FULTON GALLATIN GREENE GRUNDY HAMILTON HANCOCK HARDIN HENDERSON HENRY IROQUOIS JACKSON JASPER JEFFERSON JERSEY JO DAVIESS JOHNSON KANE KANKAKEE KENDALL KNOX LAKE LASALLE LAWRENCE LEE LIVINGSTON LOGAN MACON MACOUPIN MADISON MARION MARSHALL MASON MASSAC MCDONOUGH MCHENRY MCLEAN MENARD MERCER MONROE MONTGOMERY MORGAN MOULTRIE OGLE PEORIA PERRY PIATT PIKE POPE PULASKI PUTNAM RANDOLPH RICHLAND ROCK ISLAND SALINE SANGAMON SCHUYLER SCOTT SHELBY ST. CLAIR STARK STEPHENSON TAZEWELL UNION VERMILLION WABASH WARREN WASHINGTON WAYNE WHITE WHITESIDE WILL WILLIAMSON WINNEBAGO WOODFORD Join the Network Illinois Divorce Products, Services and Solutions Illinois Divorce Resources to Help You Through the Process. Illinois Mandatory Online Parenting Class Easy and convenient - complete at your own pace online. Discount Divorce Bookstore Over 100 Titles of the Best Books on Divorce & Custody. Divorce Download Center Instantly Download, Books, Manuals, & Forms. Free Illinois Divorce Worksheet & Separation Agreement Your Guide to Get Organized and Put Everything in Writing. Grounds for a fault divorce in Illinois are impotence, bigamy, adultery, desertion for one year, habitual drunkenness or drug addiction for at least two years, repeated and extreme physical or mental cruelty, felony conviction or imprisonment, and infection with a sexually transmitted disease.

Find Professionals Choose a County! ADAMS ALEXANDER BOND BOONE BROWN BUREAU CALHOUN CARROLL CASS CHAMPAIGN CHRISTIAN CLARK CLAY CLINTON COLES COOK CRAWFORD CUMBERLAND DE WITT DEKALB DOUGLAS DUPAGE EDGAR EDWARDS EFFINGHAM FAYETTE FORD FRANKLIN FULTON GALLATIN GREENE GRUNDY HAMILTON HANCOCK HARDIN HENDERSON HENRY IROQUOIS JACKSON JASPER JEFFERSON JERSEY JO DAVIESS JOHNSON KANE KANKAKEE KENDALL KNOX LAKE LASALLE LAWRENCE LEE LIVINGSTON LOGAN MACON MACOUPIN MADISON MARION MARSHALL MASON MASSAC MCDONOUGH MCHENRY MCLEAN MENARD MERCER MONROE MONTGOMERY MORGAN MOULTRIE OGLE PEORIA PERRY PIATT PIKE POPE PULASKI PUTNAM RANDOLPH RICHLAND ROCK ISLAND SALINE SANGAMON SCHUYLER SCOTT SHELBY ST. CLAIR STARK STEPHENSON TAZEWELL UNION VERMILLION WABASH WARREN WASHINGTON WAYNE WHITE WHITESIDE WILL WILLIAMSON WINNEBAGO WOODFORD Easily Connect With a Lawyer or Mediator Have Divorce Professionals from Your Area Contact You! Enter Your Zip Code:   Start Your Divorce   Settle Your Divorce   Support Forum

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