Over a month ago, Newsweek ran an article that discussed one woman’s divorce experience. After a long-term marriage, the author compared her experiences to the five stages of grief. However, she found grief too elegant of a term. Instead, she likened the divorce process to “feeling like a contestant on Wipeout: completely battered, generally off balance, and surrounded by utter chaos.” In her recollection, the author discusses feeling grief, exuberance, blame, sadness, hate and ultimately, indifference. Divorce attorneys are all too familiar with these emotions and more. However, how do you know when you have found the right attorney for you?

Any divorce attorney will understand that divorce is a hurricane of emotions. However, a good divorce attorney will serve as a mooring in that storm. The building blocks of such a relationship start early. Parties considering divorce want to make sure that they are selecting an attorney that aligns with your goals and ideology. More still, it is critically important to have legal counsel who is providing realistic and practical advice while making sure you have a thorough understanding of your expectations.

The best thing a client can do is their research. People exploring divorce should:

  1. Receive concise legal advice;
  2. Establish realistic goals based on that advice;
  3. Focus on those goals;
  4. Find counsel who best fits with those goals, and
  5. Develop a plan with counsel to meet those goals.

The most important take away when you start the divorce process is that clients ought to interview multiple attorneys. You want to make sure that your counsel is able and willing to accommodate both your practical and emotional needs. Every person’s case is different, and though some cases and solutions are similar, no sets of facts will every be the same or treated the same in court.

It is really important that our clients understand that they are not alone the family law attorneys at Parnell, Michels & McKay believe that divorce is 85% emotional and 15% practical. We empathize with our client’s needs, while providing them with practical guidance grounded in knowledge of the law. If you are interested in learning more about how communication can impact parenting plans, divorce, child support, or any other legal worries, please contact us to learn more.

We have 2 office locations: 25 Nashua Rd., Suite C5, Londonderry, NH 03053. Phone number is (603) 434-6331. Our 2nd office is at 137 Main St., P.O Box 669, N. Woodstock, NH 03262. Phone number is (603) 745-8600.