How to Find the Best Divorce Lawyer in Lakewood Colorado?  - Best Lakewood, Colorado Divorce Attorney Jefferson County

It’s a trick question. You don’t need to locate the absolute best divorce attorney in Lakewood, Colorado There are plenty of divorce attorneys in Lakewood that would certainly do an equally excellent undertaking for you. It would be inconceivable to identify which one is the “best.”

The correct issue for you, the Lakewood divorce consumer, is just how to identify one of those Lakewood best divorce lawyers at the correct standards of representation as well as price for the facts of your certain circumstances – while keeping away from all of the usual, as well as often harmful, pitfalls of the Lakewood divorce attorney selection decision.

If you understand what those pitfalls are (I will certainly tell you in this article) as well as if you have the correct attitude, namely that you wish to make your Lakewood divorce attorney fit your instance as well as not enable the lawyer to require your instance to fit his/her rigid practice profile, after that you boost substantially your chances of nailing the Lakewood divorce attorney employing decision. Getting you through that decision efficiently is the intention of this post.

Initially, let’s list the 4 factors to keep away from:

1. Avoid Do-It-Yourself Divorce:

It is feasible, repeat POSSIBLE, to download free family law documents from Colorado’s judicial council or family court websites. Those free divorce documents are going to be uncompleted, obviously. You can then attempt to complete as well as record the documents at your neighborhood Jefferson County divorce court by yourself without specialist assistance. This is possible – but highly unlikely, really challenging, complicated, irritating as well as exceptionally slow.

Do it yourself divorce would be effectively out of the question, as well as not sensible even to try, in any  elaborate or contested family law matter. It would be highly unlikely to be effective if you have minor children of the marital relationship or have any assets or debts to be listed in case or have custody, visitation or support settlements in your matter. It would certainly be reckless in a matter including domestic violence. Do it yourself would also be tough if you have a job or if you position any sort of worth on your own time. Family law documents as well as processeses are designed by lawyers to confuse you so that you work with – an attorney.

Please excuse me if I don’t invest excessive time on the DIY threat. My experience on the front lines of California divorce for the past 40+ years is that folks that begin the divorce procedure with the intent to attempt to get a totally free divorce are most likely to  attempt Do-It-Yourself divorce whatever. For some reason, probably financial, there is absolutely nothing I have actually had the ability to find to encourage them not to.

Do It Yourself in Family Law is consistently fake economy. You WILL almost certainly screw it up, as well as screwed-up proceedings are much more problematic as well as really expensive to remedy as well as complete. Don’t play this game. The system is designed by lawyers to confuse you as well as require you to hire a divorce attorney. There are currently economical options available– see listed below. Don’t go it alone in Divorce or Family Law.

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

An uncontested divorce is merely one in which the participants will not be disputing any problems, including the divorce itself. The participants don’t need to be cheerful as well as they don’t need to like each other. They are either completely or mainly in agreement on all problems as well as are sensible enough to realize that standard full-representation divorce lawyers (with substantial retainers as well as billable hours) would be the only winners if they contested relatively insignificant problems in their divorce.

Traditional complete representation by a local Lakewood divorce attorney is when that attorney will represent you in all aspects of your divorce case. It is highly likely to be an excellent service, but it is way over-priced.

If you have a contested matter, a complex matter, a high-value matter or a matter that involves domestic violence or the threat of domestic violence, complete representation by a Lakewood divorce attorney is NOT to be avoided. It is a prerequisite.

A contested matter means that you as well as your spouse/partner are contesting ANY issue in the matter. A complicated matter contains legal complexities such as tax problems, current business problems, a special needs child of the marital relationship or any one of many other complicated legal issues. A high-value case means that your marital estate is huge. There is no specific dollar limit. Absolutely, if you have a high 7-figure net marital estate or greater, that is a high-value matter.

If you suspect that you have a contested,complicated or high-value matter, you do. Employ an expert as well as expensive Lakewood divorce attorney for complete traditional representation. Search for a certified Family Law specialist. You will certainly not be sorry you did.

If you do NOT have a contested, complex, high-value or domestic violence case, you do NOT need traditional complete representation by a Lakewood divorce attorney. In fact, under those circumstances, complete legal representation by a Lakewood divorce attorney ends up being a threat to your financial position. Steer clear of it.

Of course, if you call or email a traditional Lakewood divorce attorney, they will not tell you that you do not need their complete representation service. In fact, they will attempt to terrify the crap out of you by sharing with you that you absolutely are in need of their service which your case will get screwed up without it.

That could well transpire– even in a non-DIY case. I’ll share with you next how to stay clear of perhaps 90+% of the possible threat of getting your case screwed up if you don’t go DIY and you DON’T hire a traditional Lakewood divorce lawyer on a complete representation basis.

Your case might likewise perhaps get screwed up if you DID hire a complete representation Lakewood divorce lawyer. That’s likewise not probable, however it could possibly occur.

Nevertheless, what will DEFINITELY occur if you hire a traditional complete representation Lakewood divorce lawyer to manage your uncontested divorce or family law case is that you will get screwed financially. Your case may be handled effectively, however you will overbuy unneeded services and you will overpay for them.

There’s no requirement for that to occur any longer. Your parents had few other options on their family law employing options. Your grandparents had no other options. You have lots of valid options to make your Lakewood uncontested divorce attorney employing decision based upon the nature and truths of your case, not upon the BMW payments of Lakewood divorce lawyers. Continue reading.

3. Avoid Unqualified Unregulated Online Divorce Mills:

This is without a doubt the most significant risk you face in your employing decision in regards to damage to your future legal and financial security. Non-lawyer online divorce is a substantial market. And it is exceptionally harmful to your legal and financial future.

Online divorce mills provide slick sites, wicked-cool divorce software, fees lower than MOST lawyers, no legal advice, no legal knowledge, no professional licensing, no legal education, no code of principles, no malpractice insurance coverage, no knowledge of Jefferson County divorce procedures, no local knowledge about Jefferson County guidelines of court, local Jefferson County documents, local practices or the policies of specific local judges in the Lakewood region and no expert interest in you or your case. And all within a totally unregulated Wild-West market rampant with all kinds of incompetence, price scams, and up-selling.

Online divorce mill fees average about $300, however what you get for that $300 fee is extremely little– just prepared Colorado divorce documents. Any other services delivered are all up-sold on the basis that when they’ve got you hooked, what are you going to do – walk away from money already invested? You are at their mercy and you are completely unguarded. And they realize it!

See the Online Divorce Association of America’s website for a good synopsis of just some of the more typical frauds and up-sells to be experienced in the online divorce market.

If you choose an online divorce mill, you’ll always be contending with low-level, untrained, disinterested, high turn-over personnel, call center workers and folks in India, Ukraine, the Czech Republic, Mexico or some other state. No one will perform any kind of analysis on your case to secure you and any minor children from future legal or financial damage. Customer support will be terrible because it doesn’t need to be anything else. You will never ever have the ability to consult with anyone at an online divorce mill as it is highly likely that none of them are located in Lakewood and even in Colorado

If you work with 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 most recent risk to keep away from in your Lakewood divorce lawyer employing decision.

Nevertheless, the possible damage here is not huge– nowhere near the damage done routinely by non-lawyer online divorce mills or undoubtedly the damage most likely to be done by you to your own case with DIY divorce.

If you work with a Lakewood divorce lawyer you found on a mass-lawyer finder platform, you’re going to overpay to some extent, depending upon how much the lawyer is paying the lawyer finder platform, however not as badly as if you had employed a traditional complete representation Lakewood family law lawyer directly.

Undoubtedly, you don’t want to hire a traditional complete representation Lakewood divorce lawyer you discover on a mass-lawyer platform. That would intensify your over-payment, however the crucial element here is that you don’t want to hire a traditional complete representation Lakewood divorce lawyer to manage your basic uncontested divorce, no matter where you discover that lawyer!!

The threat with employing a Lakewood divorce lawyer that you discover ONLY on a mass-lawyer platform is that you’re employing a second-rate Lakewood divorce lawyer– a drone who just stands in line with all other Lakewood divorce lawyers and HOPES that s/he will get your trade however does nothing to distinguish himself or herself from the Lakewood lawyer-crowd. That lawyer does nothing to persuade you that s/he is the unique solution to your case. You don’t wish to have that lawyer.

You could do with a Lakewood divorce lawyer who is innovative, vibrant, unique, classy and business-savvy. In fact, why would you work with a Lakewood divorce lawyer to safeguard your own legal and financial interests when s/he does not even take care of his/her own law practice interests aggressively and decisively? You’re trying to find a divorce lawyer who purposefully sets himself or herself apart from the Lakewood lawyer-crowd and does NOT blend in by joining Avvo and doing nothing else.

Mass-lawyer finder platforms like Avvo are totally free to sign up with, which is why every divorce lawyer in Jefferson County will have joined. So you ought to not disqualify a Lakewood divorce lawyer only because s/he has an Avvo account.

Nevertheless, you ought to not assume that such a Lakewood divorce lawyer is really wise or business-savvy either. The problem is that while these mass-lawyer platforms are totally free for the lawyer to enroll in, the lawyer needs to then begin to pay continuously increasing fees on a bid-basis, always contending versus other local Jefferson County divorce lawyers, to be seen on the leading page of the platform’s website. If that lawyer doesn’t pay more, s/he’ll be on page 3 or 5 of the mass-lawyer website in even a medium-sized town. If that lawyer doesn’t keep bidding up his/her fees, she’ll not get sufficient trade to keep up.

It’s a winner-take-all system with the leading really few lawyers in each town taking almost all clients– based upon how much marketing fees they can pay– not based upon how excellent they are or on how they have configured their offerings to suit your case. The barrier to that me-too lawyer getting your business is the quantity of money s/he is prepared to pay to get it, not the quality and distinctiveness of his/her service offerings.

If that me-too divorce lawyer in Lakewood pays more to the mass-lawyer finder platform and keeps paying more, s/he’ll get a highlighted position on the platform’s website and will get more business, however his/her costs of doing business will continuously increase while his/her fees are relatively fixed by the flat need for consumer law services such as divorce.

The Lakewood divorce lawyer who plays the Avvo pay-to-play game will always need increasingly more lower profit cases just to stay on top of business costs. You don’t desire that business-foolishness in somebody you will trust with your legal and financial future.

And yes, that lawyer is going to utilize the very same brain to take care of your case as s/he used to screw his/her own law practice into the ground.

How to Find the Best Lakewood Divorce Lawyer – Best Lakewood, Colorado Divorce Attorney Jefferson County

So above are 4 problems to abstain from: DIY divorce, old-fashioned full-service lawyer representation in basic uncontested cases, unlicensed and unregulated online divorce mills and uninspiring me-too drone lawyers who are actually bad at the business of law practice.

So what do you in fact look for in a Lakewood divorce lawyer?

Before I tell you, I want to set the stage by giving you two exceptional stats that I did not presume true when I first saw them. These are game-changers in the legal profession and you really need to make the most of them in your Lakewood divorce lawyer selection 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 Lakewood 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 Lakewood divorce attorney:

1. Licensed local Lakewood divorce attorney (not an unlicensed out-of-state online divorce mill);
2. Offers unbundled services in uncontested cases– this suggests that you just purchase the legal services your case needs. You will usually do your own filing of docs at court and arrange for the service of filed docs on your spouse/partner. The divorce lawyer will evaluate your docs before they are submitted to court, identify problem concerns in your case and recommend the very best options based upon legal advice and local knowledge. If you call a lawyer and ask about unbundled services and you can determine they don’t understand or don’t desire you to understand, just hang up. They don’t yet get it. Move on. Don’t inform them.
3. Uses online divorce software that enables you to log into a client portal and inputall of the details in your case.  This not only saves time and money, but it in fact empowers you in your own case. You are the source of all informationin your case. Likewise, 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 Lakewood 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 Lakewood lawyer-crowd. You’re looking for someone with style who stands out, not melds in. 1-800-DIVORCE is exclusive in Lakewood. There is only one 1-800-DIVORCE lawyer in Lakewood. Check here or complete the web form below to see if Lakewood has a 1-800-DIVORCE.

Divorce and Other Family Law Services Are Available Through 1-800-DIVORCE in Most Medium to Large Cities, Including the Following Cities, As Well As in Lakewood:

Thornton, Aurora, Centennial, Boulder, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Albuquerque, Provo, Amarillo, Salt Lake City, West Jordan, West Valley City, Wichita, Lincoln, Billings, Lubbock, Omaha, Las Vegas