You wouldn’t take a knife to a gunfight, so why go without a divorce lawyer for what can be a legal life-and-death struggle: divorce.

It’s a sad fact that divorce cases can turn nasty very easily, and going into a divorce proceeding without competent divorce lawyer can have devastating long-term financial and family ramifications.

Divorce lawyers specialize in upholding the rights of their clients in perhaps the thorniest issues that come before courts. Retaining a competent, professional divorce lawyer can save you significant money in the long-run and also ensure that matters such as child support, child custody, property division, etc.

Before hiring a divorce lawyer, please make sure that your marriage is unsalvagable. Divorce is a painful and nerve-wracking experience and should be avoided if possible. If, however, the marriage is irretrievable, a divorce lawyer can guide you through the process and safeguard your rights.

A competent divorce lawyer can help reduce the stress of a divorce and explain specifics of the action that can prevent you from making mistakes. Those mistakes could impact child custody, support, visitation, and significantly impact your finances with regard to alimony property division and any joint debts the couple may have.

A divorce attorney is a must if your spouse is dishonest or vindictive, if complicated financial or property matters will arise or if you and your spouse cannot agree on child custody or support. A divorce attorney will be your advocate and your voice and will doggedly pursue your best interests.

If the divorcing parties are amicable, you could consider hiring a single divorce lawyer to handle the divorce. Sharing a divorce lawyer could save money for the divorcing parties and keep the process from becoming adversarial. Conflicts of interest may arise if the divorcing parties use a single divorce lawyer, however, so make sure you and your soon-to-be ex are on the same page before agreeing to share counsel.