How to Find the Best Divorce Lawyer in Jacksonville Florida?  - Best Affordable Divorce Lawyer in Jacksonville

It’s a trick question. You do not want to locate the most effective divorce attorney in Jacksonville, Florida There are many divorce lawyers in Jacksonville that would likely do an equally fine undertaking for you. It would definitely be impracticable to figure which one is the “very best.”

The correct question for you, the Jacksonville divorce consumer, is exactly how to find one of those Jacksonville top-notch divorce attorneys at the right standards of assistance as well as price for the facts of your specific scenario – while avoiding all of the common, as well as in some cases dangerous, risks of the Jacksonville divorce attorney hiring decision.

If you understand what those risks are (I will advise you in this article) as well as if you have the right mindset, particularly that you wish to make your Jacksonville divorce attorney fit your situation as well as not allow the lawyer to force your situation to fit his/her stiff practice profile, then you enhance greatly your possibilities of nailing the Jacksonville divorce attorney employing decision. Getting you through that selection successfully is the objective of this article.

To begin with, let’s mention the 4 aspects to stay clear of:

1. Avoid Do-It-Yourself Divorce:

It is possible, repeat POSSIBLE, to download free family law forms from Florida’s judicial council or family court websites. Those free divorce forms are going to be blank, of course. You can then attempt to finish as well as submit the forms at your regional Duval County divorce court on your own without professional assistance. This is feasible – however extremely unlikely, very difficult, confusing, frustrating as well as very slow.

Do it yourself divorce would be essentially unfeasible, as well as not sensible even to attempt, in any kind of  elaborate or contended family law proceedings. It would be extremely unlikely to be effective if you have minor children of the marital relationship or have any kind of assets or financial obligations to be listed in the event or have custody, visitation or assistance settlements in your proceedings. It would absolutely be ill-advised in a case entailing domestic physical violence. Do it yourself would also be tough if you work or if you position any kind of worth on your own time. Family law forms as well as processeses are made by attorneys to confuse you so that you employ – an attorney.

Please excuse me if I do not invest way too much time on the DIY threat. My experience on the front lines of California divorce for the past 40+ years is that individuals that begin the divorce procedure with the intent to attempt to obtain a cost-free divorce are most likely to  attempt DIY divorce whatever. Somehow, probably financial, there is nothing I‘ve had the ability to discover to encourage them not to.

Do It Yourself in Family Law is consistently false affordability. You WILL probably screw it up, as well as screwed-up matters are a lot more troublesome as well as very expensive to remedy as well as complete. Do not play this game. The system is made by attorneys to confuse you as well as force you to hire a divorce attorney. There are now economical choices offered– see below. Do not go it alone in Divorce or Family Law.

2. Avoid Traditional Jacksonville Family Law Attorneys if Your Case is Likely to be Uncontested:

An uncontested divorce is merely one in which the litigants will not be challenging any kind of problems, including the divorce itself. The litigants do not need to be pleased as well as they do not need to care for each other. They are either entirely or mainly in agreement on all problems as well as are sensible enough to acknowledge that traditional full-representation divorce attorneys (with substantial retainers as well as billable hrs) would be the only victors if they contended relatively unimportant problems in their divorce.

Standard complete representation by a neighborhood Jacksonville divorce attorney is when that attorney will represent you in all parts of your divorce matter. It is extremely likely to be a good service, but it is very expensive.

If you have a disputed matter, a complicated matter, a high-value matter or a case that involves domestic violence or the threat of domestic violence, complete representation by a Jacksonville divorce attorney is NOT to be avoided. It is a necessity.

A disputed matter denotes that you as well as your spouse/partner are contesting ANY issue in the matter. A complicated matter consists of legal complexities such as tax problems, active business problems, a special needs child of the marital relationship or any one of countless additional intricate legal scenarios. A high-value case means that your marital estate is huge. There is no particular dollar limit. Definitely, if you have a high 7-figure net marital estate or greater, that is a high-value matter.

If you believe that you have a disputed,complicated or high-value matter, you do. Work with an expert as well as expensive Jacksonville divorce attorney for complete traditional representation. Search for a certified Family Law specialist. You will not be sorry you did.

If you do NOT have a disputed, complex, high-value or domestic violence case, you do NOT require traditional complete representation by a Jacksonville divorce attorney. In fact, under those circumstances, complete legal representation by a Jacksonville divorce attorney becomes a risk to your financial position. Steer clear of it.

Of course, if you call or email a conventional Jacksonville divorce attorney, they will not tell you that you do not require their complete representation service. In fact, they will attempt to terrify the crap out of you by informing you that you completely require their service which your case will get messed up without it.

That could well come to pass– even in a non-DIY case. I’ll advise you next how to prevent possibly 90+% of the prospective threat of getting your case messed up if you do not go DIY and you DON’T hire a conventional Jacksonville divorce lawyer on a complete representation basis.

Your case could likewise possibly get messed up if you DID hire a complete representation Jacksonville divorce lawyer. That’s likewise not probable, but it could possibly take place.

Nevertheless, what will DEFINITELY take place if you hire a conventional complete representation Jacksonville divorce lawyer to manage your uncontested divorce or family law case is that you will get screwed economically. Your case may be dealt with very well, but you will overbuy excessive services and you will overpay for them.

There’s no requirement for that to take place anymore. Your parents had few other choices on their family law employing options. Your grandparents had no other choices. You have lots of valid choices to make your Jacksonville uncontested divorce attorney employing selection based upon the nature and truths of your case, not upon the BMW payments of Jacksonville divorce attorneys. Read on.

3. Avoid Unqualified Unregulated Online Divorce Mills:

This is by far the biggest threat you face in your employing selection in regards to damage to your future legal and financial security. Non-lawyer online divorce is a huge market. And it is very dangerous to your legal and financial future.

Online divorce mills offer slick sites, wicked-cool divorce software application, costs lower than MOST attorneys, no legal guidance, no legal understanding, no professional licensing, no legal education, no code of ethics, no malpractice insurance coverage, no understanding of Duval County divorce procedures, no local understanding about Duval County guidelines of court, local Duval County forms, local practices or the policies of specific local judges in the Jacksonville region and no professional interest in you or your case. And all within an entirely unregulated Wild-West market widespread with all type of incompetence, price scams, and up-selling.

Online divorce mill costs average about $300, but what you get for that $300 fee is incredibly little– just prepared Florida divorce forms. Any other services delivered are all up-sold on the basis that once they’ve got you hooked, what are you going to do – walk away from money already invested? You are at their whim and you are entirely unprotected. And they recognize it!

See the Online Divorce Association of America’s site for a very good summary of merely a few of the more common frauds and up-sells to be discovered in the online divorce market.

If you hire an online divorce mill, you’ll always be contending with low-level, untrained, indifferent, high turn-over staff, call center employees and folks in India, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Mexico or some other state. Nobody will conduct any kind of analysis on your case to protect you and any minor children from future legal or financial damage. Client assistance will be horrible due to the fact that it doesn’t need to be anything else. You will never be able to meet with anybody at an online divorce mill as it is most likely that none lie in Jacksonville or perhaps in Florida

If you employ an online divorce mill believing you will conserve yourself a few dollars and you and your household end up spending for their mistakes for several years, that is NOT a cheap divorce!

4. Avoid Me-Too Lawyer Advertising Platforms:

Me-Too Lawyer Advertising Platforms are online lawyer directory sites like Avvo, FindLaw, LegalZoom, Justia, Google Screened, Google Business Profile (formerly GMB) and now even Yelp. This is the latest risk to stay clear of in your Jacksonville divorce lawyer employing decision.

Nevertheless, the prospective damage here is not massive– nowhere near the damage done consistently by non-lawyer online divorce mills or indeed the damage most likely to be done by you to your own case with DIY divorce.

If you employ a Jacksonville divorce lawyer you found on a mass-lawyer finder platform, you’re going to overpay to some extent, depending upon just how much the lawyer is paying the lawyer finder platform, but not as terribly as if you had actually employed a conventional complete representation Jacksonville family law lawyer straight up.

Undoubtedly, you do not want to hire a conventional complete representation Jacksonville divorce lawyer you find on a mass-lawyer platform. That would compound your over-payment, but the essential factor here is that you do not want to hire a conventional complete representation Jacksonville divorce lawyer to manage your easy uncontested divorce, no matter where you find that lawyer!!

The threat with employing a Jacksonville divorce lawyer that you stumble on ONLY on a mass-lawyer platform is that you’re working with a humdrum Jacksonville divorce lawyer– a drone who just stands in line with all other Jacksonville divorce attorneys and HOPES that s/he will get your business but does nothing to set apart himself or herself from the Jacksonville lawyer-crowd. That lawyer does nothing to persuade you that s/he is the unequalled solution to your case. You do not want to have that lawyer.

You could do with a Jacksonville divorce lawyer who is imaginative, bold, unique, stylish and business-savvy. In fact, why would you employ a Jacksonville divorce lawyer to safeguard your own legal and financial interests when s/he does not even look after his/her own business interests aggressively and decisively? You’re searching for a divorce lawyer who purposefully sets himself or herself apart from the Jacksonville lawyer-crowd and does NOT blend in by joining Avvo and doing nothing else.

Mass-lawyer finder platforms like Avvo are free of charge to sign up with, which is why every divorce lawyer in Duval County will have registered. So you need to not disqualify a Jacksonville divorce lawyer only because s/he has an Avvo account.

Nevertheless, you need to not consider that such a Jacksonville divorce lawyer is very intelligent or business-savvy either. The problem is that while these mass-lawyer platforms are free of charge for the lawyer to register with, the lawyer must then begin to pay continuously increasing costs on a bid-basis, always competing versus other local Duval County divorce attorneys, to be seen on the top page of the platform’s site. If that lawyer doesn’t pay extra, s/he’ll be on page 3 or 5 of the mass-lawyer site in even a medium-sized town. If that lawyer doesn’t keep bidding up his/her costs, she’ll not get enough business to stay in business.

It’s a winner-take-all system with the top very few attorneys in each town taking almost all clients– based on just how much advertising costs they can pay– not based on how excellent they are or on how they have configured their offerings to match your case. The barrier to that me-too lawyer getting your trade is the amount of money s/he is prepared to pay to get it, not the quality and skill of his/her service offerings.

If that me-too divorce lawyer in Jacksonville pays more to the mass-lawyer finder company and keeps paying more, s/he’ll get a highlighted position on the platform’s site and will get more clients, but his/her expenses of getting business will continuously rise while his/her costs are relatively set by the flat need for consumer law services such as divorce.

The Jacksonville divorce lawyer who plays the Avvo pay-to-play scheme will always require increasingly more lower revenue cases just to keep up with sales expenses. You do not want that business-foolishness in somebody you will rely on with your legal and financial future.

And yes, that lawyer is going to use the very same brain to look after your case as s/he utilized to screw his/her own business into the ground.

How to Find the Best Jacksonville Divorce Lawyer – Best Affordable Divorce Lawyer in Jacksonville

So above are 4 problems to stay away from: DIY divorce, old-fashioned full-service lawyer representation in easy uncontested cases, unlicensed and unregulated online divorce mills and boring me-too drone attorneys who are truly bad at business.

So what do you in fact seek in a Jacksonville divorce lawyer?

Before I advise you, I want to set the stage by offering you 2 impressive statistics that I did not presume true when I initially saw them. These are game-changers in the legal profession and you really need to make the most of them in your Jacksonville divorce lawyer employing decision:

1. There is a glut of lawyers on the market and it’s serious. According to the ABA National Lawyer Population Survey, in 2017, the whole legal profession lost some 1400 jobs while almost 20,000 brand new lawyers have been added – just in 2017. And the ABA has just certified a huge new law school down in Texas. And this has been trending for years. And all of this surplus of supply while the demand for legal services has been flat or, as in the case of family law, diminishing because of DIY divorce and the overwhelming success of fraudulent and incompetent online divorce mills (both caused by the Internet).
2. From 1988 to 2012, the average solo lawyer practitioner’s yearly income, after adjusting for inflation, dropped from $70,747 to $49,130. Read that last sentence again. This is based on published data from the IRS compiled from solo lawyer practitioner tax returns for the years specified. The legal profession is in serious economic decline. More so in areas of consumer law, like uncontested divorce, where the Internet has reduced the knowledge gap between lawyers and consumers.

What to Look For:

Business-savvy lawyers who want to participate in the divorce industry are under considerable price and business-model pressure right now. Take advantage! You want to hire a Jacksonville divorce lawyer who has responded to this professional crisis in the following ways.

You want as many of the following factors as you can find in one Jacksonville divorce attorney:

1. Licensed local Jacksonville divorce attorney (not an unlicensed out-of-state online divorce mill);
2. Offers unbundled services in uncontested cases– this signifies that you just purchase the legal services your case needs. You will typically do your own filing of docs at court and arrange for the service of filed docs on your spouse/partner. The divorce lawyer will examine your docs before they are filed, determine problem issues in your case and suggest the very best choices based upon legal guidance and local understanding. If you call a lawyer and ask about unbundled services and you can tell they do not know or do not want you to know, just hang up. They do not yet get it. Carry on. Do not inform them.
3. Uses online divorce software that enables you to log into a client portal and inputall of the data in your case.  This not only conserves money and time, but it actually empowers you in your own case. You are the source of all informationin your case. Also, there’s no 50-page paper copyone-size-fits-all questionnaire for you to complete in the lawyer’s waiting area.
4. Uses other cloud-based software and apps – listen for buzz phrases like “client portal” and “virtual law practice.” Ask about e-filing and listen closely to determine if the lawyer even knows what it is.
5. Doesn’t have a fancy office in a downtown high-rise or across from the courthouse. You don’t want to pay those rents. This is even more so during C-19. You’re looking for a lawyer in a strip mall or even one who works at home and has one or more shared office arrangements for client meetings. Don’t use a lawyer who has obviously big expenses – YOU pay them!
6. Look for a competitive edge. Look for a lawyer who understands what is going on around him or her in his or her chosen profession. The practice of law is legal education, knowledge and experience attached to a business model. If you call a lawyer and ask about unbundled services or online divorce interviews and they act like law practice is ONLY a noble profession and not a competitive business, hang up. Don’t educate them. They don’t yet get it.
7. Specialization – You don’t want to hire a lawyer who is a jack-of-all-trades on the basis that s/he might get hired for something. There are many different areas of law practice. They are very different from each other. Specialization is the name of the game today. Look at the lawyer’s website. It will tell you whether s/he is trying to get work in numerous areas of practice. It doesn’t matter if the lawyer handles maybe 2 areas of law, particularly if they are both areas of consumer law, such as divorce and bankruptcy. However, if you see that the primary practice area is DUI or personal injury or criminal law and family law appears to be an add-on, move on. Don’t explain.  Just move on. They do not handle enough family law to be any good.  They use family law as an unwanted add-on.  They will not be experienced enough and they will have to charge you a lot because you will be one of very few family law clients. Also, personal injury law paydays are huge and criminal law cases are critical to someone’s personal freedom. Where do you think your family law case will fit into that lawyer’s busy day?
8. Look for a spark – You are looking for a lawyer who has positioned himself or herself in such a way as to convince you that s/he is the unique local divorce lawyer in Jacksonville that is best suited to resolving your case and your specific problems. This is hard to define, but you will understand if that lawyer makes this connection with you. If there is no such spark on the first exposure, there never will be. Move on.
9. Look for Unique Action – Obviously, this does not involve ONLY standing in line with every other lawyer at Avvo or similar me-too lawyer platforms. Avvo owns all of that attorney’s blog posts and may control his or her entire marketing outreach. Avvo takes money from that lawyer in order to sign up more lawyers in Jacksonville lawyer-crowd. You’re looking for someone with style who stands out, not melds in. 1-800-DIVORCE is exclusive in Jacksonville. There is only one 1-800-DIVORCE lawyer in Jacksonville. Check here or complete the web form below to see if Jacksonville has a 1-800-DIVORCE.

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