The Best Divorce Lawyers Near You · De La Cruz %26 Cutler, LLP. It is unusual for divorce attorneys to work on contingency, where they receive an agreed proportion of the amount awarded only if they win the case. A divorce lawyer handles negotiations about how assets are divided between spouses, as well as who takes on debts. You can rest assured that you have a team of two lawyers and a paralegal behind you, who are always up to date on your case.
First, legal separation can be a step in the court-ordered divorce process, and some states require prospective divorcees to spend some time living apart in the form of legal separation before proceeding to the formal divorce. Annulments can also be requested for religious reasons, particularly given the seriousness of divorce in the understanding of certain religions. Since divorce dissolves a marriage, you will need to consider how you and your spouse intend to divide your joint property (division of property), the child custody agreement (if you have children), and potential spousal support (alimony). Going through a divorce or other family law matter can be one of the hardest experiences you'll face.
However, an annulment is very similar to a divorce in that it may involve a division of property, negotiations of custody and visitation, etc., but an annulment means that the marriage was established under false pretenses. You should hire a divorce lawyer in situations where it is difficult to reach agreements between you and your spouse, or if you want to better understand your rights. While divorce may be permanent, it does not dispute the fact that a marriage was legally enacted and existed in the first place. If a man discovers, for example, that his wife has been lying about an extensive criminal past (or present), or that he never formally divorced an ex-spouse, he can file for an annulment instead of a divorce.
The divorce lawyer can also help establish a child support and child custody agreement between the spouses. Connect with a local Worcester, MA attorney with proven experience helping clients with divorce issues in Massachusetts. The division of marital property after a divorce will generally depend on whether or not you live in a community property state. As with divorce, with legal separation, you will need to negotiate property division, child custody, child support issues, and spousal support.
