How to Prepare for Your Appointment

It’s unfamiliar territory for you. You are not sure what you need to consider or what you need to bring with you. You are not sure what is important and what is not important. This post will hopefully help you determine how to prepare for your first appointment with an attorney.

When it comes to divorce just about everything is relevant, but let’s narrow down the list for your first appointment. You should bring with you the following:

• Completed questionnaire (if one was sent to you).
• Current statements on everything (bank accounts, credit cards, mortgage, investment, retirement)
• A list of your income and expenses each month
• A list of all of your property and it’s approximate worth
• Any documentation related to the reason for a divorce
• And most importantly, why are you seeking a divorce

I say that the last item is most important, because for me to truly represent you I need to understand the circumstances behind your divorce. I need to know what you hope to achieve through this process. I need to understand what brought you to my office. Without that, then I am just an attorney pushing paper and I believe with cases as emotional as this we, as attorneys, need to be more than paper pushers. We need to argue for you, our client, and the best way to do that is to understand you and your situation.