Do I Need to Hire an Attorney to Get a Divorce?

If you are seeking a divorce or have been served with divorce papers, the road forward is likely to include emotional turmoil, in addition to the fact that your parental and financial rights are on the line. If this is the difficult position you find yourself in, an experienced Minnesota divorce attorney is in your corner. 

Your Rights Hang in the Balance

In a divorce, you’ll need to resolve each of the divorce terms that apply in your situation, and because your rights do hang in the balance, it’s important to have professional legal counsel on your side. Divorce terms include:

• Child custody arrangements, including both legal custody and physical custody – or parenting time
• Child support
• The fair division of marital property
• Alimony

Each of these represents an important right that is well worth protecting.

Legal Custody and Parenting Time

Legal custody determines who will take on the primary parenting decisions moving forward, including those related to schooling, health care, religious education, and extracurriculars.

Parenting time sets the overnight schedule that determines when your children stay with you and when they stay with your ex.

Child Support

Both you and your children’s other parent are required to continue providing financial support for your children, and while an array of factors go into the calculation process, the primary concerns include the number of overnights each parent has and each parent’s earnings.    

The Division of Your Marital Assets

The assets that you and your ex came to own while you were a married couple are marital assets that will need to be distributed between you fairly during your divorce. 

Alimony

Only if your divorce leaves one of you without the ability to support yourself financially while the other is able to help will alimony factor in. 

Your Attorney’s Role

Your dedicated divorce attorney will take on a range of primary tasks in pursuit of favorable terms that work for you, including:

• Clearly identifying the complete range of your marital assets to help ensure that you receive a just division
• Helping you pinpoint your divorce priorities and strategize the best path forward
• Ensuring that your case proceeds forward as smoothly as possible
• Engaging in skilled negotiations with your spouse’s divorce attorney
• Ensuring that you understand the financial and tax implications of proposed term resolutions
• Helping you focus on what matters most to you and helping to ensure that less significant details don’t bog down your negotiations

Without a seasoned divorce attorney in your corner, your chances of obtaining divorce terms that are in accordance with your priorities decrease considerably.   

Turn to an Experienced Minnesota Divorce Attorney for the Help You Need Today

If you’re facing a divorce, you need legal guidance on your side, and the savvy Minnesota divorce attorneys at Atticus Family Law are well-prepared and well-positioned to help. Learn more by contacting us today.