BRAWER ,HIRSCH AND ASSOCATIES P.A.
STRETCHING YOUR RETAINER ADVICE
Thank you for your interest in Brawer, Hirsch and Associates P.A. the lawyers who care.
We are here to be part of your solution. These tips are offered to insure that we, as family lawyers in Fort Lauderdale FL, do not become part of your problem. Please read it carefully. Some of the material is common sense. Some of it comes directly from the Florida Self Help forms. All of it is designed to help you avoid having your FL Family Lawyer's office spend time doing work you could be doing yourself.
First, our clients hire us to represent them so that when they appear at their divorce mediation or trial they will have beside them the best possible representation and have the benefit of our four decades of our family law experience. That is exactly what we want to provide for each of our clients. It is who we are and what we do.
YOUR RESPONSIBILITY Florida law requires that all litigants in family law matters provide mandatory disclosures which include financial affidavits and financial documents.
TIP # 1
FINANCIAL AFFIDAVITS you can save money by filling out your own financial affidavit. Use the FL Circuit Court -Family Court self help forms found on the Internet based upon whether you earn less than $50,000.00 or more than $50,000.00. Read carefully the provided instruction sheets. Modify with asterisks any projected expenses that you will need but cannot afford today.
Can your Florida family lawyer fill this out for you? You bet. Do we charge for the time we take to type in the numbers you provided to us? You bet we do. Why not fill it out and bring it in with your W2,earnings statement or pay stub attached when you come to see your attorney.
Typical hourly rate for So Florida attorney fees of lawyers with over 35 years of family law experience is approximately $300 per hour. It could take your attorney an hour in time for an original draft, another hour to make subsequent adjustments for simple math to convert your annul expenses to monthly expenses. Then we would need to have our secretary do a final draft with copies for all parties, envelopes typed, stamped and, of course we would want to dictate a transmittal letter noticing the opposition that the document that is being delivered is your "financial affidavit" despite the fact it says so right on the front. You add it up. Even if the paralegal is doing most of this, the family lawyer needs to oversee it and approve it. Do the math. You could invest over a $1000.00 in having your financial affidavit prepared. Or , you can take the time, read the instructions and prepare the financial affidavit the court requires yourself.
We have more for you tomorrow when we will post Tip #2. Or you can call us 954 522 1922.
BRAWER ,HIRSCH AND ASSOCATIES, P.A.
ReplyDeleteSTRETCHING YOUR RETAINER ADVICE
Brawer, Hirsch and Associates P.A .are the attorneys who care.
We are here to be part of your solution. These Tips are to insure that we and the other family lawyers you choose to hire do not become part of your problem. Please read it carefully. Some of the material is common sense. Some of it comes directly from the Florida Self Help forms. All of it is designed to help you avoid having our office or your
FL family lawyers spend time doing work you could be doing yourself.
First, when our clients hire us to represent and stand beside them when they appear at the mediation or trial they expect to have beside them the best possible representation and have the benefit of our four decades of our family law experience. That is exactly what we want to provide for them. It is who we are and what we do.
YOUR RESPONSIDBILITY Florida law requires that all litigants in family law matters provide mandatory disclosures which include financial affidavits and financial documents.
TIPS #2 We recommend that you always provide your attorney with an amended current financial affidavit and you should keep your financial affidavit current as your situation changes. (Simply copy one of the self help financial affidavit forms and use it as many times as necessary). First of all, what your attorney does not know can only hurt you. Chances are you will be asked for this later and rather than having a motion filed to require you to do this which means paying your attorney to read the motion, research the law concerning the motion, updating the file with the motion, calendaring the motion, preparing to argue the motion, driving to the courthouse, waiting patiently for the case to be called, arguing the case, preparing an order for review by the opposing counsel and presenting the same to the court for signature and filing. All of this costs money.
Guess who will likely pay for it. That would be you.
Even if your attorney is never called to surrender the new financial affidavit, having the knowledge will save the wasted time spent preparing you for testimony about the former financial information. It also eliminates redrafting the Child Support Guidelines unnecessarily. Save time and money by keeping your financial affidavit up to date.
BRAWER ,HIRSCH AND ASSOCATIES, P.A.
ReplyDeleteSTRETCHING YOUR RETAINER ADVICE
Brawer, Hirsch and Associates P.A .are the attorneys who care.
We are here to be part of your solution. These Tips are to insure that we and the other family lawyers you choose to hire do not become part of your problem. Please read it carefully. Some of the material is common sense. Some of it comes directly from the Florida Self Help forms. All of it is designed to help you avoid having our office or your
FL family lawyers spend time doing work you could be doing yourself.
First, when our clients hire us to represent and stand beside them when they appear at the mediation or trial they expect to have beside them the best possible representation and have the benefit of our four decades of our family law experience. That is exactly what we want to provide for them. It is who we are and what we do.
YOUR RESPONSIDBILITY Florida law requires that all litigants in family law matters provide mandatory disclosures which include financial affidavits and financial documents.
TIPS #3 MANDATORY DISCLOSURES - We recommend that you provide your attorney with your own certificate of mandatory disclosures. You can have your attorney prepare these for you or you can download the form from the FL Family Self Help web site. When preparing for these I have had clients bring in boxes filled with a multitude of documents asking that I sort them and arrange them for filing as their mandatory disclosure responses. That requires a great deal of time. Time for an attorney is money. Do you really want to pay your attorney to stand over a copy machine when you could copy, sort, and arrange your own responses. If you want to save money you will do well if you download the self help form for the certificate of mandatory disclosures. Provide your attorney with the completed form and the documents that are required along with copies for the opposing counsel. Keep a copy for yourself.
BRAWER ,HIRSCH AND ASSOCATIES, P.A.
ReplyDeleteSTRETCHING YOUR RETAINER ADVICE
Brawer, Hirsch and Associates P.A .are the attorneys who care.
We are here to be part of your solution. These Tips are to insure that we and the other family lawyers you choose to hire do not become part of your problem. Please read it carefully. Some of the material is common sense. Some of it comes directly from the Florida Self Help forms. All of it is designed to help you avoid having our office or your
FL family lawyers spend time doing work you could be doing yourself.
First, when our clients hire us to represent and stand beside them when they appear at the mediation or trial they expect to have beside them the best possible representation and have the benefit of our four decades of our family law experience. That is exactly what we want to provide for them. It is who we are and what we do.
YOUR RESPONSIDBILITY Florida law requires that all litigants in family law matters provide mandatory disclosures which include financial affidavits and financial documents.
TIPS #4
We recommend that you always provide your attorney with all of your mandatory disclosure documents. When preparing these I have had clients that simply refuse to go to the effort to obtain from all available sources, the disclosure documents necessary for a complete response. Whether it is out of anger, stubborn resolve, and obstinacy or ineptitude the necessary documents never seem to appear. The law requires these and will support efforts by party to obtain them.
So when you refuse to comply what happens? The opposition sends a letter which must be dictated, looking for the documents. That is followed by the dictation and preparation of a Motion to Compel Disclosures and secretarial time in drafting a Notice of Hearing after checking the availability of the judge in your case. This will be taken to the courthouse and a copy delivered to your lawyer and the judge. Next the attorney will make a good faith attempt by calling to obtain the documents. Then the lawyer will prepare for the hearing. The lawyer may have to travel to the courthouse for the hearing. Then the lawyer may wait an hour or so for the case to be called. After a brief hearing an order will be drafted by the attorney or an ex parte order issued. Then ten days later the process starts all over again with the drafting of a Motion to Enforce Discovery Order and for Contempt of Court. The entire prehearing procedure happens again but this time with sanctions against you as the goal. Sanctions can be attorney fees as well as having your pleadings struck. That requires a great deal of time and time for an attorney is money.
All of this costs money.
Guess who will likely pay for it?
Guess who will pay your spouses attorney fees as well for it? That would be you!
Save time and money by making the diligent effort to provide all of the mandatory disclosure items required.
BRAWER ,HIRSCH AND ASSOCATIES, P.A.
ReplyDeleteSTRETCHING YOUR RETAINER ADVICE
Brawer, Hirsch and Associates P.A .are the attorneys who care.
We are here to be part of your solution. These Tips are to insure that we and the other family lawyers you choose to hire do not become part of your problem. Please read it carefully. Some of the material is common sense. Some of it comes directly from the Florida Self Help forms. All of it is designed to help you avoid having our office or your
FL family lawyers spend time doing work you could be doing yourself.
First, when our clients hire us to represent and stand beside them when they appear at the mediation or trial they expect to have beside them the best possible representation and have the benefit of our four decades of our family law experience. That is exactly what we want to provide for them. It is who we are and what we do.
YOUR RESPONSIDBILITY Florida law requires that all litigants in family law matters provide mandatory disclosures which include financial affidavits and financial documents.
TIPS #5 We recommend that you make three copies of these mandatory disclosure documents . One for the file, one for delivery to the other side and one to keep. The originals will likely be exhibits at trial. Think how you would feel burning $100 bills. That should be how you feel if you leave it to your attorney to stand over a copier and make copies of your documents. Often we have to make copies but when it’s within your ability to make the copies yourself why pay us? Organize your documents to correspond to the numbered request in the mandatory disclosure form. Then make your own copies. If you have to take them to Kinko’s or the like it is still much cheaper than having me or someone like me do the copying , stapling, collating, organizing and binding of your mandatory disclosure items. Be a partner in your own legal matter. Take a pro active role. Research and trial procedure may not be within your purview but making copies and organizing documents is. Do it and save money.
BRAWER ,HIRSCH AND ASSOCATIES, P.A.
ReplyDeleteSTRETCHING YOUR RETAINER ADVICE
Brawer, Hirsch and Associates P.A .are the attorneys who care.
We are here to be part of your solution. These Tips are to insure that we and the other family lawyers you choose to hire do not become part of your problem. Please read it carefully. Some of the material is common sense. Some of it comes directly from the Florida Self Help forms. All of it is designed to help you avoid having our office or your
FL family lawyers spend time doing work you could be doing yourself.
First, when our clients hire us to represent and stand beside them when they appear at the mediation or trial they expect to have beside them the best possible representation and have the benefit of our four decades of our family law experience. That is exactly what we want to provide for them. It is who we are and what we do.
YOUR RESPONSIDBILITY Florida law requires that all litigants in family law matters provide mandatory disclosures which include financial affidavits and financial documents.
TIPS #6 We recommend that you should divide ,label, mark by section coordinated with the certificate and organized and make three copies of these mandatory disclosure documents . One for the file, one for delivery to the other side and one to keep. The originals will likely be exhibits at trial. Think how you would feel burning $100 bills. That should be how you feel if you leave it to your attorney to stand over a table and organize your documents for filing. Often we have to sort and organize copies but when it’s within your ability to organize these copies yourself why pay us? Organize your documents to correspond to the numbered request in the mandatory disclosure form. Take a pro active role. Research and trial procedure may not be within your purview but organizing documents is. Do it and save money.
BRAWER ,HIRSCH AND ASSOCATIES, P.A.
ReplyDelete(http://www.brawerlaw.com)
STRETCHING YOUR RETAINER ADVICE
Brawer, Hirsch and Associates P.A .are the attorneys who care.
We are here to be part of your solution. These Tips are to insure that we and the other family lawyers you choose to hire do not become part of your problem. Please read it carefully. Some of the material is common sense. Some of it comes directly from the Florida Self Help forms. All of it is designed to help you avoid having our office or your
FL family lawyers spend time doing work you could be doing yourself.
First, when our clients hire us to represent and stand beside them when they appear at the mediation or trial they expect to have beside them the best possible representation and have the benefit of our four decades of our family law experience. That is exactly what we want to provide for them. It is who we are and what we do.
YOUR RESPONSIDBILITY Florida law requires that all litigants in family law matters provide documents if served with a formal Request to Produce Documents.
TIPS #7 PRODUCE ALL DOCUMENTS REQUESTED if you have been served with a Request for the Production of Documents we advise you to locate all documents regardless of how inconvenient . No one enjoys document gathering and production. Often emotions take over when you are required to use your limited moments of non working time to chase through records, hold on the robotic computerized telephone lines or search the web for automated web records to download. Often you feel violated and even frustrated by the seemingly unrelated documents which you are asked to produce. A Motion for Protective Order is available for you for privileged documents but inadmissible is not the criteria for discovery. That criterion is whether the discovered documents will possibly lead to admissible evidence. If you do not do a complete production of all the documents sought by the Mandatory Disclosures or the Notices for Production served upon your attorney, the opposition will file motions to compel your performance. Those are hearings in which sanctions are sought. Sanctions may include attorney fees for the opposition or at worse the striking of your pleadings and dismissal of your case. Even if we are able to keep these sanctions from happening based upon justifiable excuses or delays, the hearings take time to prepare for and attend. In the words of Nike” Just do it” and save a good deal of money.
8. LEARN THE COMPUTER I have been advised to learn how to use the computer to obtain your records from checking accounts and credit cards.. Waiting for them to be sent from the credit card company or the bank takes forever.
ReplyDeleteBRAWER ,HIRSCH AND ASSOCATIES, P.A.
ReplyDelete(http://www.brawerlaw.com)
STRETCHING YOUR RETAINER ADVICE
Brawer, Hirsch and Associates P.A .are the attorneys who care.
We are here to be part of your solution. These Tips are to insure that we and the other family lawyers you choose to hire do not become part of your problem. Please read it carefully. Some of the material is common sense. Some of it comes directly from the Florida Self Help forms. All of it is designed to help you avoid having our office or your
FL family lawyers spend time doing work you could be doing yourself.
First, when our clients hire us to represent and stand beside them when they appear at the mediation or trial they expect to have beside them the best possible representation and have the benefit of our four decades of our family law experience. That is exactly what we want to provide for them. It is who we are and what we do.
YOUR RESPONSIDBILITY Florida law requires that all litigants in family law matters provide documents for Mandatory Disclosures and if served with a formal Request to Produce Documents.
TIPS #8. LEARN THE COMPUTER FOR RECORDS PRODUCTION
We advise our clients to learn how to use the computer, especially simple search engines which allow you to obtain your records from your bank’s internet web pages. You are going to need current records from your checking accounts and credit cards You can call and request or write for these records. Waiting for them to be sent from the credit card company or the bank takes forever. Time is critical when you are only allowed thirty days to produce these documents. It is much simpler to register on line and download your records from the internet.
If you do not do a complete production of all the documents sought by the Mandatory Disclosures or the Notices for Production served upon your attorney, the opposition will file motions to compel your performance. Those are hearings in which sanctions are sought. Sanctions may include attorney fees for the opposition or at worse the striking of your pleadings and dismissal of your case. Even if we are able to keep these sanctions from happening based upon justifiable excuses or delays such as the delays from the bank or credit card companies to provide your requested records, the hearings take time to prepare for and attend. In the words of Nike” Just do it” and save a good deal of money.
BRAWER ,HIRSCH AND ASSOCATIES, P.A.
ReplyDelete(http://www.brawerlaw.com)
STRETCHING YOUR RETAINER ADVICE
Brawer, Hirsch and Associates P.A .are the attorneys who care.
We are here to be part of your solution. These Tips are to insure that we and the other family lawyers you choose to hire do not become part of your problem. Please read it carefully. Some of the material is common sense. Some of it comes directly from the Florida Self Help forms. All of it is designed to help you avoid having our office or your
FL family lawyers spend time doing work you could be doing yourself.
First, when our clients hire us to represent and stand beside them when they appear at the mediation or trial they expect to have beside them the best possible representation and have the benefit of our four decades of our family law experience. That is exactly what we want to provide for them. It is who we are and what we do.
Tip # 9 BECOME FAMILIAR WITH A COMPUTER FOR EMAIL.
All conscientious lawyers should communicate with their clients. The minimum form of communication should include copying clients with all pleadings and exhibits received by the attorney on behalf of the client’s case. Generally was done in bygone days with the dictation of a transmittal letter outlining that the copies being sent are for the client’s records, and what action is or needs to be taken on the documents. That letter is typed by a secretary in rough and presented to the lawyer for review. If there are errors the lawyer will then correct the errors and resubmit it to the secretary for correcting. Then the corrected letter is presented to the attorney for his signature. Thereafter an envelope is typed, weighed for postage necessary, stamped generally by hand and taken to the mail box for sending to the client.
This is true for client letters without documents as well.
The general rule of thumb is that it takes a minimum of half an hour to generate a letter to a client.
Consider that if you are educated in the use of a computer for receiving email your lawyer can scan incoming documents and generate an email to you in a few moments. He can then attach the document or copy of pleading as an “attachment” and email the entire package to you free of costly time and postage. You simply hit “print” and you have the documents in hand.
You do the math. Remember when dealing with an attorney time is money. Learn to use a computer and save money. Save lots of money and stretch that retainer!
BRAWER ,HIRSCH AND ASSOCATIES, P.A.
ReplyDelete(http://www.brawerlaw.com)
STRETCHING YOUR RETAINER ADVICE
Brawer, Hirsch and Associates P.A .are the attorneys who care.
We are here to be part of your solution. These Tips are to insure that we and the other family lawyers you choose to hire do not become part of your problem. Please read it carefully. Some of the material is common sense. Some of it comes directly from the Florida Self Help forms. All of it is designed to help you avoid having our office or your
FL family lawyers spend time doing work you could be doing yourself.
First, when our clients hire us to represent and stand beside them when they appear at the mediation or trial they expect to have beside them the best possible representation and have the benefit of our four decades of our family law experience. That is exactly what we want to provide for them. It is who we are and what we do.
Tip 11. Use Good Judgment The attorneys at Brawer, Hirsch and Associates, P.A. have created a work product we ask our clients to fill out on their own. This work product is just one of the tasks we ask our clients to perform in the course of the case. The work product we use took many hours to perfect. It is the best tool for refining our client’s direct testimony.
When we go over the work product we sometimes find that there are simply none of the criteria set out that would accomplish the goals our clients want to accomplish in court. While the decision to proceed with trial is always the client’s the advice to do so must come from the knowledge and experience of the attorney. The costs of litigation is astronomical even when we avoid the frills which all trial lawyers would think as essential If you want to spend enough to cover your children’s education funds or your own self into a terrible financial picture, you need to make the investment on a trial that a seasoned family lawyer gives you some reasonable hope of success. If you hire a lawyer so that you can hear only what you want, you have made a foolish choice. Hire lawyers who aren’t afraid to tell it like it is, then don’t be afraid to consider their advice. I would like to believe that most family lawyers have their client’s best interests at heart. Listen to yours and save a small fortune.
BRAWER ,HIRSCH AND ASSOCATIES, P.A.
ReplyDelete(http://www.brawerlaw.com)
STRETCHING YOUR FLORIDA FAMILY LAW RETAINER ADVICE
At Brawer, Hirsch and Associates P.A , we are the attorneys who care.
We are here to be part of your solution. These Tips are to insure that we and the other family lawyers you choose to hire do not become part of your problem. Please read it carefully. Some of the material is common sense. Some of it comes directly from the Florida Self Help forms. All of it is designed to help you avoid having our office or your
FL family lawyers spend time doing work you could be doing yourself.
First, when our clients hire us to represent and stand beside them when they appear at the mediation or trial they expect to have beside them the best possible representation and have the benefit of our four decades of our family law experience. That is exactly what we want to provide for them. It is who we are and what we do.
Tip 12. Your deposition can be the most critical element in the settlement of your family law matter. How you answer questions will impact the decision of a seasoned trial lawyer whether to risk going against you at trial.
There is an art to taking a deposition like there is in every other aspect of trial work. In years gone by we would spend many hours pouring our “how to” knowledge regarding answering deposition questions, what nuances to look for or avoid, what traps to avoid. To save our client’s money we have obtained a recorded instructional deposition presentation. The tape takes about thirty minutes to watch and we follow that with a short review of the high points in consultation. The result is the savings of many hours and that translates into many dollars.
Ask your attorney if he/she has instructional videos and if so take advantage of watching them and stretch that retainer.
BRAWER ,HIRSCH AND ASSOCATIES, P.A.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.brawerlaw.com
STRETCHING YOUR RETAINER ADVICE
Brawer, Hirsch and Associates P.A .are the attorneys who care.
We are here to be part of your solution. These Tips are to insure that we and the other family lawyers you choose to hire do not become part of your problem. Please read it carefully. Some of the material is common sense. Some of it comes directly from the Florida Self Help forms. All of it is designed to help you avoid having our office or your
FL family lawyers spend time doing work you could be doing yourself.
First, when our clients hire us to represent and stand beside them when they appear at the mediation or trial they expect to have beside them the best possible representation and have the benefit of our four decades of our family law experience. That is exactly what we want to provide for them. It is who we are and what we do.
YOUR RESPONSIDBILITY Florida law requires that all litigants in family law matters provide mandatory disclosures which include financial affidavits and financial documents.
TIPS #5 We recommend that you make three copies of these mandatory disclosure documents. One for the file, one for delivery to the other side and one to keep. The originals will likely be exhibits at trial. Think how you would feel burning $100 bills. That should be how you feel if you leave it to your attorney to stand over a copier and make copies of your documents. Often we have to make copies but when it’s within your ability to make the copies yourself why pay us? Organize your documents to correspond to the numbered request in the mandatory disclosure form. Then make your own copies. If you have to take them to Kinko’s or the like it is still much cheaper than having me or someone like me do the copying , stapling, collating, organizing and binding of your mandatory disclosure items. Be a partner in your own legal matter. Take a pro active role. Research and trial procedure may not be within your purview but making copies and organizing documents is. Do it and save money.
BRAWER ,HIRSCH AND ASSOCATIES, P.A.
ReplyDelete(http://www.brawerlaw.com)
STRETCHING YOUR FLORIDA FAMILY LAW RETAINER ADVICE
At Brawer, Hirsch and Associates P.A , we are the attorneys who care.
We are here to be part of your solution. These Tips are to insure that we and the other family lawyers you choose to hire do not become part of your problem. Please read it carefully. Some of the material is common sense. Some of it comes directly from the Florida Self Help forms. All of it is designed to help you avoid having our office or your
FL family lawyers spend time doing work you could be doing yourself.
First, when our clients hire us to represent and stand beside them when they appear at the mediation or trial they expect to have beside them the best possible representation and have the benefit of our four decades of our family law experience. That is exactly what we want to provide for them. It is who we are and what we do.
Tip # 13 WORK ON ANGER ISSUES There is an adage, “ Those the Gods would destroy, they first make angry” . Anger is what brings most litigants to an attorney. A certain degree of anger is a good thing when you are involved in litigation as it keeps you focused, keeps you from being too willing to compromise against your interests or against your children’s interests. But, too much anger, like anything else, is destructive and will make you the proverbial “lawyer’s dream”. To minimize the drain on your retainer so that you do not find your self unwilling to compromise at mediation or unwilling to settle your case when your powers of reason and economic good sense should prevailing over revenge and acrimony, find what ever it takes to get past the need to hold onto anger.
Florida law contemplates that you and your spouse will be co parenting and decision making for as long as you are both the parents of your children so it will serve you well to find a way to compartmentalize the heat and anger that led you you’re your attorney’s office in the first place. In our office we have some self help CD’s and materials available and we make recommendations from our experience for programs when you feel you or you and your children are ready to move forward in that direction. Sometimes it is too soon. The conscious or unconscious anger issues are too dominant. That is certainly understandable. However, know that the sooner you get past it , the less you will generally spend on your attorney fees thereafter.
BRAWER ,HIRSCH AND ASSOCATIES, P.A.
ReplyDelete(http://www.brawerlaw.com)
STRETCHING YOUR FLORIDA FAMILY LAW RETAINER ADVICE
At Brawer, Hirsch and Associates P.A , we are the attorneys who care.
We are here to be part of your solution. These Tips are to insure that we and the other family lawyers you choose to hire do not become part of your problem. Please read it carefully. Some of the material is common sense. Some of it comes directly from the Florida Self Help forms. All of it is designed to help you avoid having our office or your
FL family lawyers spend time doing work you could be doing yourself.
First, when our clients hire us to represent and stand beside them when they appear at the mediation or trial they expect to have beside them the best possible representation and have the benefit of our four decades of our family law experience. That is exactly what we want to provide for them. It is who we are and what we do.
TIP #14 14._ WORK ON BLAME ISSUES To minimize the drain on your retainer so that you do not find yourself unwilling to compromise at mediation or settle your case when reason and economic good sense should be prevailing over revenge and acrimony, find what ever it takes to get past the need to blame. Florida law contemplates that you and your spouse will be co parenting and co operating for as long as you are both the parents of your children so it will serve you well to find a way to forgive each other and yourselves the wounds of the divorce war battles. In our office we maintain self-help CD’s and materials which we make available. We make recommendations from our experience for programs when you feel you or, you and your children, are ready to move forward in that direction. Sometimes it is too soon, the wounds are too raw. That is certainly understandable. However, know that the sooner you get to that place, the less you will generally spend on your attorney fees thereafter.
We advise our clients that even if we acknowledge the truth about each and every complaint they have against their spouse there is still a reality that they themselves have played a role in the break up of the marriage. The bad news is that we cannot change our spouse’s behaviors. Only they can choose to do that. We can only change our behaviors. Generally those behaviors we blame our spouses for are those behaviors we do ourselves but lack self acceptance around. Look at your role in causing the breakdown of the marriage regardless of what you spouse may have done. Do this and you can move beyond the need to blame and your litigation will cost you far less.
BRAWER ,HIRSCH AND ASSOCATIES, P.A.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.brawerlaw.com
STRETCHING YOUR RETAINER ADVICE
Brawer, Hirsch and Associates P.A .are the attorneys who care.
We are here to be part of your solution. These Tips are to insure that we and the other family lawyers you choose to hire do not become part of your problem. Please read it carefully. Some of the material is common sense. Some of it comes directly from the Florida Self Help forms. All of it is designed to help you avoid having our office or your
FL family lawyers spend time doing work you could be doing yourself.
First, when our clients hire us to represent and stand beside them when they appear at the mediation or trial they expect to have beside them the best possible representation and have the benefit of our four decades of our family law experience. That is exactly what we want to provide for them. It is who we are and what we do.
15. DISREGARD YOUR OLD IDEAS OF DIVORCE What you have seen on TV and read in novels is no longer what is happening in the unified family courts of Florida. After October 2008 many of the already liberalized concepts of Family Law in Florida changed even further than ever before. We had already given up the concept of making the ending of a marriage an adversarial process as much as possible. This was done by taking away many of the old style pleading concepts, expecting spouses to continue living together until the final judgment of dissolution so long as they were not violent, and sharing parental responsibility. Now things have gone even further.
Now the Florida Legislature no longer permits courts to award primary responsibility for the children to either parent. As long as that parent is not subject to having his or her parental rights terminated that parent will share time under a court approved parenting plan based upon the best interests of the children.
If there is a history of violence sufficient to warrant a fear of serious bodily injury or death, then a petition for a domestic violence restraining order will address that problem.
Many clients will spend their entire retainer engaged in an effort to discredit their estranged spouse for adulterous behavior, poor business decisions, a history of disinterest in parenthood and adolescent choices that have led to the very decision to end the marriage. While these are to some degree important for purposes of demonstrating the “best interests” of the children for the time sharing allotment, they will not, no matter how painful they have been for you in the relationship, bring about a denial of that spouse’s right to time with their child.
If you are invested in revenge because of misbehavior towards you in the marriage, it will be a very expensive effort which will mean replenishing your retainer many times before we finish this case. Denying time sharing, controlling time sharing as a means of proving that you are the “better spouse” is equally cost provoking. We encourage you to think this through very carefully.
Be sure that your attorney speaks frankly at the initial consultation about what the elements of proof will to accomplish your goal and obtain the judgment you desire. Weigh your facts against the current burden of proof required. Remember, there is always more ways than one to create a “win” for yourself in litigation. Often saving the high cost of non productive litigation is one of those ways.
BRAWER ,HIRSCH AND ASSOCATIES, P.A.
ReplyDelete(http://www.brawerlaw.com)
STRETCHING YOUR FLORIDA FAMILY LAW RETAINER ADVICE
At Brawer, Hirsch and Associates P.A , we are the attorneys who care.
We are here to be part of your solution. These Tips are to insure that we and the other family lawyers you choose to hire do not become part of your problem. Please read it carefully. Some of the material is common sense. Some of it comes directly from the Florida Self Help forms. All of it is designed to help you avoid having our office or your
FL family lawyers spend time doing work you could be doing yourself.
First, when our clients hire us to represent and stand beside them when they appear at the mediation or trial they expect to have beside them the best possible representation and have the benefit of our four decades of our family law experience. That is exactly what we want to provide for them. It is who we are and what we do.
tIP # 16 ___ TAKE THE PARENTING COURSE ON LINE Parents who are dissolving their marriage or seeking a court approved parenting plan in a Paternity action are required by local rules in some counties to take a court approved parenting program. These are offered live or on line. Normally these courses are very basis. We recommend some more sophisticated courses such as the course REDIRECTING CHILDREN COURSE . Whole Hearted Parenting , RCB South Florida www.WholeHeartedParenting.Blogspot.com 954.483.8021
In Florida,this can be done on line. Most judges allow it.
The internet has the information you need to accomplish this. Once you have completed it you must download the course completed certificate. Then bring the certificate to your FL family lawyer so he/she can file it with the court. If it is not completed the judges will not grant the dissolution of marriage. That means you will have to pay your attorney to set a hearing and prepare a final judgment of dissolution of marriage for that date. If your certificate of completion of the parenting program is not in the record, you will have to come back for a second final hearing once the course has been taken. That means you get billed a second time. Save money -take the necessary course on line.
BRAWER ,HIRSCH AND ASSOCATIES, P.A.
ReplyDelete(http://www.brawerlaw.com)
STRETCHING YOUR FLORIDA FAMILY LAW RETAINER ADVICE
At Brawer, Hirsch and Associates P.A , we are the attorneys who care.
We are here to be part of your solution. These Tips are to insure that we and the other family lawyers you choose to hire do not become part of your problem. Please read it carefully. Some of the material is common sense. Some of it comes directly from the Florida Self Help forms. All of it is designed to help you avoid having our office or your
FL family lawyers spend time doing work you could be doing yourself.
First, when our clients hire us to represent and stand beside them when they appear at the mediation or trial they expect to have beside them the best possible representation and have the benefit of our four decades of our family law experience. That is exactly what we want to provide for them. It is who we are and what we do.
Tip # 17._________ BE SURE YOUR FLORIDA DRIVER’S LICENSE IS OVER SIX MONTHS OLD.. In order to get a final judgment of dissolution of marriage it will be necessary to demonstrate that a client is a resident of the state of Florida and that he /she has been for more that six (6) months prior to the filing of the petition for dissolution of marriage. . This is generally done by producing a valid FL driver’s license which is more than six months old which shows a FL residence address for more than six months. If you don’t have such a license let your attorney know well in advance of the final hearing. Your alternative is to obtain a copy of your driving record or bring two witnesses to testify to your residency. Too often our clients arrive with a recently renewed driver’s license. If you haven’t advised your attorney that your driver’s license does not show the six month residency you will not be able to complete the scheduled hearing. You will have to reschedule it when witnesses or other forms of proof can be obtained. Are you interested in paying your attorney to prepare and re-file the notice of final hearing, to appear and wait for your case to be called twice and to prepare two final judgments? Lincoln said “a lawyer’s time is his stock and trade.” Save time and money. Check your driver’s license early enough to let your attorney know if it has been renewed within the last six months.
BRAWER ,HIRSCH AND ASSOCATIES, P.A.
ReplyDelete(http://www.brawerlaw.com)
STRETCHING YOUR FLORIDA FAMILY LAW RETAINER ADVICE
At Brawer, Hirsch and Associates P.A , we are the attorneys who care.
We are here to be part of your solution. These Tips are to insure that we and the other family lawyers you choose to hire do not become part of your problem. Please read it carefully. Some of the material is common sense. Some of it comes directly from the Florida Self Help forms. All of it is designed to help you avoid having our office or your
FL family lawyers spend time doing work you could be doing yourself.
First, when our clients hire us to represent and stand beside them when they appear at the mediation or trial they expect to have beside them the best possible representation and have the benefit of our four decades of our family law experience. That is exactly what we want to provide for them. It is who we are and what we do.
Tip 17. MEDIATE IN GOOD FAITH.
I have been advised that Mediation is an alternative dispute resolution method now required in all family law cases. At some point in the litigation of a Florida family law case a judge will order the parties to mediation and how they approach the process will make a huge impact on how much they will spend to reach their ultimate goal.
There is no question that a successful mediation can save money. For one thing you avoid the necessity to spend hours preparing your testimony. You spend additional hours having your witnesses’ testimony reviewed and the witnesses prepared for the courtroom. You save hours of deposition preparation, deposition testimony, trial preparation, trial time and court reporter expenses.
Unfortunately while caught up in the emotion of dissolution and litigation the ability to disassociate from the fear of traumatic life changes may be too difficult.
Mediation should be a purely economic resolution based upon your own best interest . If children are involved that becomes even more difficult.
Understanding the art of negotiating is essential. Otherwise be prepared to hand over the decision making power over the rest of your life to a stranger you will address as “Judge”. Realize as you do so, that he will only be able to hear evidence which is legally admissible in the short hours of your trial.
Mediation is not a time for recrimination, blaming, angry accusations or condescension. That will not produce the results you want. At some point the mediator will break the parties into private sessions called “caucuses”. Save your anger for those sessions.
Expect outrageous initial offers but know that this is a process and that where you start is seldom where you finish. “Drawing lines in the sand” is a recipe for a failed mediation.
Understand mediation is a waste of your money unless you come to the mediation table open to all possibilities and willing to look at all reasonable compromises. Remember the mediator is ethically barred from giving you or your spouse legal advice. A good lawyer can be of critical importance in the mediation process.
Both parties should leave the mediation feeling they have given up more than they wanted to and neither should feel that they have been the victor.
No decisions are made at mediation against you, only by you. While you cannot lose a mediation you can save a great deal of money on legal fees by acting with good faith in your efforts to settle the case.