Posts by James Hart, Esq.:
- Client came to see me – we conducted a divorce assessment and determined that they could only afford to pay between $300-500 of postseparation support to their spouse. Client had received a demand letter from their spouse’s attorney requesting $2,200 per month in support – way more than my client could ever reasonably afford to pay.
- Upon being retained, I attempted to negotiate with the other attorney, who immediately filed a lawsuit for postseparation support and set a hearing date. When it became apparent that the other attorney was completely unreasonable in their demands – (I could not get them to come down lower than a request of $1,250/month or so in PSS) – I stopped negotiating because to do so was wasting my client’s money.
- By the date of the hearing, I convinced my client to offer $500 per month in support. Even though this was more than they could afford, we couldn’t be sure about what the judge would do, and it was also possible that the judge would order my client to pay the fees for the other attorney. Opposing counsel rejected this offer.
- The Judge made a very reasoned and reasonable ruling – denying the other attorney’s request for attorneys fees, and ordering my client to pay $600 per month in support. This was $100 more than we offered, but much less than the $2,200 that was initially requested in the demand letter my client brought me at the divorce assessment.
- Denied the other attorney’s request for attorneys fees;
- Denied all of the other requests made by the other attorney to try to inflate my client’s ability to pay;
- Denied the other attorney’s request to have the court order my client to pay joint marital debts;
- Agreed with me that the taxes should have been considered in determining my client’s ability to pay;
- Provided that I am currently available to talk – I promise I will talk with you. If you leave a message with my receptionist, I will call you back as soon as I possibly can, usually the same business day.
- I don’t charge prospective clients for calling our firm. Also, I have recently moved most of my cases to flat fee arrangements, meaning that ordinary clients won’t be charged for phone calls either.
- When you call my firm for the first time, I promise to empathize with your problem and listen to why you are calling. If you decided to schedule an appointment, I will ask you some simple questions about your case and your contact information – but nothing more.
- I never, ever attempt to pressure anyone into making an appointment. I provide a ton of information on my website, so if I sense any hesitation on your part, than I will direct you to my website to do some more research and call back when you are ready. If you choose not to call back, then that is fine too.
- How much has being with your partner resulted in your learning new things?
- How much has knowing your partner made you a better person?
- How much does your partner increase your ability to do new things?
- When you are with your partner, do you feel a greater awareness of things because of him or her?
Why I don’t quote fees on the phone
February 6th, 2012Today I received a call from a nice enough gentleman who needed assistance drafting a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (QDRO). We talking briefly about what he wanted and why he needed a lawyer (he couldn’t draft a QDRO on his own) – then the all to common question came up…
“How much will you charge for this?”
My token response… “Well, I’ll need you to come in for an initial meeting, which I require of ALL clients, and we can discuss your problem in more detail. If I choose to accept your case, I’ll quote you a fee.”
His response? “That’s why I hate lawyers.” Click.
I completely understand this individuals frustration, and I’m probably making a huge mistake by publishing this post. However, clients in need of a lawyer don’t always understand how complicated their case might be. If I quote them a fee over the phone, then I’m stuck with that fee (as are they). And I’ve also found that the people that call around to find the cheapest lawyer are looking for cheap work – and I don’t do cheap work. I do the best I can for my clients, provide exceptional customer service, and charge a fair fee for my services.
But every client and every case is different. I liken the way I work to a situation I found myself in last year. I needed to restain my deck. I started doing it myself until I realized I was in way over my head. I called a deck-stainer (who did a great job by the way), and asked them for a quote over the phone. Not surprising, they were unwilling to do this. They wanted to come out, measure the deck, figure out which stain I wanted to use, and quote me accordingly.
So it seems to me that us damn lawyers do things pretty much the same way that other service providers do…
Mom with Breast Cancer loses Custody of kids
May 12th, 2011A Mom in Durham, NC recently lost custody of her children because she was diagnosed with breast cancer. In an extremely sad case, and yet another shining example of why collaborative law is such a promising tool for resolving family law conflicts, Alaina Giordano has lost custody of her two children because of a terminal breast cancer diagnosis.
Judge Nancy Gordon gave custody of the children to Ms. Giordano’s abusive husband who now resides in Chicago in part because “the course of [Ms. Giordano's] disease is unknown, and “children who have a parent with cancer need more contact with the non-ill parent.”
This case illustrates just how important it is to consider collaborative law, especially when there are children involved. Even when you think you have a rock-solid custody case, a Judge can very easily grant custody to the other parent – and you can’t predict when this is going to happen.
However, in a collaborative case, the parents have control over the process, the decisions that are made, and the parenting arrangement, all with the help of a mental health professional that is trained to handle custody related conflicts.
Vindication! I love being right…
March 24th, 2011I rarely use my blog forum to gloat about the outcome of a divorce case, but today I just have to.
Here is a quick summary of how I met this client and the information they gave me when they initially came to see me last year:
However, this is not the end of the story. Upon review of the draft Order from the Judge, we notice that the Judge had failed to deduct taxes from a bonus my client had received – thus artificially inflating my client’s ability to pay.
When I brought this to the attention of the other attorney, he realized that fixing this mistake could further decrease my client’s ability to pay, thus leaving his client with less support. What did he do? He analyzed the draft order for every possible mistake, tried to add in additional income to increase my client’s ability to pay, and even inserted provisions ordering my client to pay joint marital debts (which the court did not have jurisdiction to order). In his draft order, he had increased my client’s ability to pay to around $900 per month.
Ultimately, we had to submit competing orders to the Judge who did the following:
The bottom line? We offered $500 to the other attorney on the day of the hearing to settle the matter. Four months and thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees later (by the other attorney and his client – my client paid me a flat fee for all work after the hearing) – The judge decreased my client’s ability to pay to $380!
That’s why I feel so strongly about the power of the divorce assessment. If you have been served with a lawsuit or received paperwork from your spouse’s attorney, and you have questions, call Raleigh Divorce Lawyer Jim Hart for your Divorce Assessment today at (919) 460-5422.
Friday Funny – Clumsy Best Man Ruins Wedding
January 21st, 2011Clumsy Best Man Ruins Wedding in this hilarious video. Best to keep a sense of humor – you only live once!
Is your Raleigh Divorce Attorney ethical?
January 20th, 2011This post is brought to you courtesy of one of my holdover litigation cases… It is amazing to me how every dealing I have with the opposing counsel on this case leads me to write about ethics and divorce lawyers. (Here is a past post that was prompted by actions from the same lawyer.)
The only reason I refrain from using this attorney’s name is that he would probably sue me for libel, and my professional reputation and relationships with colleagues are more important to me than bad-mouthing an attorney in a public forum.
Notwithstanding the same, it appears to me that this divorce attorney is willing to do anything he can to “churn” his file and generate fees for his client, even if the likelihood that his client will benefit financially from his work is slim to none. He seems to believe that what he is doing is zealously advocating for his client – but I have to ask, at what cost to his professional reputation and the judge’s opinion of his lawyering skills? Not to mention, I would never refer a case to him or the firm he works for after my experience working with him.
Click here for more information on how I decide whether or not to accept a case – note #3: I won’t take a case if it doesn’t make economic sense for the client to hire me…
Family law is one area where the clients can’t afford to have attorney’s litigating every little detail of a case. 90% of our clients don’t have the money for it. If you want to litigate on someone’s dime, go work for an insurance defense firm or do some corporate work – don’t do it at the expense of the family law client that has bills to pay and debts to pay off.
Do you know what your attorney is doing for you? Are they keeping you informed? Do you understand why you are paying them thousands of dollars each month? If the answer to any of those questions is no, you should consider finding another lawyer.
Better yet, consider a collaborative divorce. Flat fees, more control, less stress, no judges, finish up the case with a group hug – what could be better? Give it some thought. If you and your spouse are sick of the fighting – give collaborative a shot. Call us at (919) 460-5422 if you feel your divorce lawyer is being unethical and you need a change. You’ll be glad you did.
Are you scared to call a law firm?
January 13th, 2011One of the things that we as lawyers often forget is that we can be intimidating. One of the first things I tell clients who come to visit with me for the first time is that they have nothing to be afraid of. I pride myself in not trying to pull one over on a prospective client – or an actual client.
However, as I was perusing another attorney’s website this morning, I came across a page that I found interesting. Robert Kraft, a Dallas Personal Injury Lawyer, has put together a special page to alleviate the fears that people have of calling a lawyer.
The reasons Mr. Kraft lists on this page as to why people shouldn’t be afraid to call his firm pretty much mirror the reasons that I tell clients they should be scared to pick up the phone and call my office.
If you choose to call my firm, here are some things you should expect:
Just like Mr. Kraft says, if I think that I need to meet with you to discuss your problem in more detail, than I will ask you to schedule a meeting in my office. If I don’t think I can help you, than I will refer you to the appropriate lawyer or agency for more assistance.
Any questions? Feel free to call us at (919) 460-5422. We pride ourselves on building relationships with our clients – all of them.
What makes a Happy Marriage?
January 8th, 2011Evidently, the key to a happy marriage is to be a bit selfish. So says a recent article in the New York Times entitled “The Happy Marriage is the ‘Me’ Marriage.” According to the author, couples in lasting marriages are effective at communicating what they want to their spouse and by doing so are able to derive personal satisfaction from the marriage.
Here are some some questions (taken from the Sustainable Marriage Quiz) to ask to determine whether you are in a “happy” marriage:
Here is what I take away from all of this – does your spouse make you a better person because you are married to him or her? If the answer to that question is yes, then you are probably in a pretty happy marriage. However, if you feel constrained, unappreciated, and depressed in your marriage, then you may be considering other options.
Tips to make your divorce easier
January 5th, 2011Last week the Raleigh News and Observer ran a story entitled “4 tips to make your divorce easier for your divorce attorney and yourself.” Those tips included telling your lawyer the truth, get help from a therapist if you need it, listen to your attorney’s advice, and organize your documents before you give them to the attorney so that they don’t have to spend lots of time trying to figure out what you gave them.
While I think this is a great starting point, and strongly believe that you should follow much of this advice, there is one little tip that seems to have missed the cut in this article. Consider a collaborative divorce.
Ms. Perry’s advice is great advice if you are going through a traditional divorce with two litigation attorneys. However, if you decide to use the collaborative process, then several of her tips are unnecessary.
First – getting help if you need it. Divorce is a stressful experience, there is no denying it. However, we have found that clients that engage in the collaborative process are happier and less stressed than those that follow a traditional divorce model. That’s not to say that if you do a collaborative divorce you won’t need to seek the help of a counselor every now and then, but the likelihood of you needing it are diminished.
Second – organizing your files to save money. We have moved to a flat fee arrangement for our collaborative cases, meaning that the amount of work you do will have no impact on your case. Now, I will say that we really appreciate your assistance in organizing documents, but because of the full disclosure model that a collaborative divorce takes on – most of the work organizing documents will take place during a 2 hour collaborative meeting. In addition, since the courts are not involved, then the number and volume of disclosures required are typically less than would be needed in a traditional divorce, where boxes and boxes of documents can be produced.
So the biggest tip I can give you – consider and learn about the collaborative process. You may be surprised to learn that it is a better option for you – and just about everyone else going through a divorce.
Learning How to Be Alone
January 3rd, 2011One of the scariest things about separating from your spouse is the thought of being alone. This is especially difficult for people that have been married a long time. Here is a nice video that talks about how to feel comfortable being alone. Thanks to Lee Rosen for originally sharing this video with me…
Bankruptcy and Divorce – Thoughts to Consider
December 14th, 2010It’s no secret that one of the biggest things that couples fight about is money. And in these tough economic times, it doesn’t take a whole lot to push a couple over the edge… from a financial standpoint. In certain situations, bankruptcy may be a viable option for you. If you are considering filing for bankruptcy, whether you do it before or after you separate from your spouse can have a major impact on your legal options.
Filing before you separate can have some benefits. First, if you decide to pursue a Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, the process takes about 100 days, and when you are done, there won’t be any debt left over to divide (except for certain non-dischargeable debts, such as student loans and tax debts). This will make things very easy for your divorce attorney and should bring down the overall cost of your divorce.
However, as with everything in life, there are also some drawbacks to filing before you separate. For starters, if you are the supporting spouse and you have lots of debt payments, these would be considered when determining how much money you would have to pay in alimony. Once these debt payments are eliminated, then you would have a lot more money left over to pay support to your spouse. Because alimony and child support are also non-dischargeable in bankruptcy, then you may be paying more in support because the other debt payments would no longer be considered in determining your ability to pay. Thus, you could be sent right back to square one financially.
If you do decide to wait until after you have reached a separation agreement to file for bankruptcy, then there are some other issues you need to consider. First, how things are worded in the agreement will have a profound effect on whether or not it is dischargeable in the bankruptcy. Generally speaking, property settlement provisions in a separation agreement are not dischargeable in bankruptcy, nor are alimony or child support payments. If you are the dependent spouse, however, you must be aware that if your spouse files for bankruptcy after the separation and property settlement agreement has been signed, then they may have more cash available for support. For these reasons, you want to make sure you attorney includes some language in the property settlement agreement that addresses future bankruptcy’s and how it would affect your settlement.
Bottom Line? If you are in a situation where bankruptcy is a possibility, and you are thinking about or have already separated from your spouse, then a collaborative divorce may be appropriate for you. In a collaborative divorce, both you and your spouse can discuss and brainstorm all of your options together, with your attorneys present, and then jointly see a bankruptcy attorney if it is looking like that may be appropriate for your situation.
If you live in Wake County, then Travis Sasser is a fantastic bankruptcy attorney and I highly recommend him.
