When you are looking for local divorce lawyers you are thinking about only a few things. You want out of your marriage, you don't want to be away from your children, and you don't want to be hurt financially as well as emotionally. Having all of these things on your mind can make it easy for local divorce lawyers to take advantage of you and your situation. The best way to avoid this type of abuse is to interview many different local divorce lawyers before hiring one, and asking them all the same ten very important questions. 1. Do you believe in my case? If local divorce lawyers think that you are in the wrong, and they do not believe in you or your case, they are the wrong lawyers for you because they will not really want to help you. 2. How many cases similar to mine have you won? Don't let the local divorce lawyers hem and haw around this question. Don't let them tell you that they had one case similar, and then skirt around the details. Be sure that the lawyer can help you with your unique situation. 3. What parts of the divorce will you handle? Some lawyers prefer not to take difficult contested child custody cases. Other lawyers may want to avoid child support courts. Make sure that the local divorce lawyers you choose from will handle all aspects of your case. 4. How much time do you have to dedicate to my case? Too many local divorce lawyers work independently and therefore have to take many cases to be able to make ends meet. If the lawyer you choose doesn't have time to do your case right, you could get lost in the cracks and your divorce could be drug out far longer than it should. 5. How much do you charge for an initial fee? Most local divorce lawyers will have a set rate for an initial down payment, deposit, or retainer.

6. What does the fee cover? It is important to get this information up front. Some local divorce lawyers might tell you it covers the whole thing, but when the going gets rough they ask for more money. 7. If you don't have to do everything on that list do I get a partial refund of the initial fee? You should be able to get some of your money back if the divorce runs smoothly and quickly. Local divorce lawyers that require a rather large retainer will almost certainly provide partial refunds or credits for quick and easy cases, but smaller lawyers with lower fees may not. 8. Do you have a preferred mediator? Judge? Court jurisdiction? How does my case fit in with these? Anytime local divorce lawyers have favorites it may mean that they rely on that favoritism to win cases. 9. How quickly can the papers be ready to file? Some local divorce lawyers drag getting papers filed, which can be a huge mistake. Most courts are backed up with divorce cases, and the sooner your case is filed the better. 10. Can I get all of this in writing? Any local divorce lawyers that say no need to be fled from immediately.