Appendix A

• Library: Divorce & Money (Nolo) (2020 Ed.)

Appendix A

Law Libraries

Finding a Law Library

Finding a State Law That Affects Your Divorce

Going Beyond State Laws

Using Background Resources

Lawyers and Typing Services

Finding a Lawyer

What to Look for in a Lawyer

Online Legal Resources

Additional Resources

Attorneys, Mediators, and Therapists

Child Support

Custody

Domestic Violence

Appraisers

Tax Assistance

Miscellaneous Financial Assistance

Present Value Factors

Future Value Factors

List of Professional Advisers

This book helps you through the divorce process by giving you strategies for evaluating your assets and debts, your likelihood of paying or receiving alimony or child support, and your children's custody. But you may need help beyond this book. The three best sources of legal help are a law library, lawyer, or typing service.

Before discussing additional resources in detail, here's a general piece of advice: Make all decisions yourself. By reading this book, you've taken on the responsibility for getting information necessary to make informed decisions about your legal and financial affairs. If you decide to get help from others, apply this same self-empowerment principle—shop around until you find an adviser who values your competence and intelligence and recognizes your right to make your own decisions.

Law Libraries

Often, you can handle a legal problem yourself if you're willing to do some research in a law library. Here, briefly, are the basic steps to researching a legal question. For more detailed, but user-friendly, instructions on legal research, see Legal Research: How to Find & Understand the Law, by the Editors of Nolo (Nolo).

Finding a Law Library

To do legal research, you need to find a law library that's open to the public. Public law libraries are often housed in county courthouses, public law schools, and state capitals. If you can't find one, ask a public library reference librarian, court clerk, or lawyer.

Finding a State Law That Affects Your Divorce

Laws passed by state legislatures are occasionally referred to in this book. To find a state law, or statute, you need to look in a multivolume set of books called the state code. State codes are divided into titles. States divide their titles by number or by subject, such as the civil code, family code, or finance code.

To read a law, find the state codes in your law library, locate the title you need, turn to the section number, and read. If you already have a proper reference to the law—called the citation—finding the law is straightforward. If you don't have a citation, you can find the law by referring to the index in the code you're using.

After you read the law in the hardcover book, turn to the back of the book. There should be an insert pamphlet (called a pocket part) for the current or previous year. Look for the statute in the pocket part to see if it has been amended since the hardcover volume was published. (Also see online resources.)

Going Beyond State Laws

If you want to find the answer to a legal question, rather than simply looking up a law, you will need some guidance in basic legal research techniques. Resources that may be available in your law library are:

• Legal Research: How to Find & Understand the Law, by the Editors of Nolo (Nolo)
• Legal Research in a Nutshell, by Kent C. Olsen and Morris Cohen (West), and
• Finding the Law (12th ed.), by Robert Berring and Elizabeth Edinger (West).

Using Background Resources

If you want to research a legal question related to family law but don't know where to begin, one of the best resources is the Family Law Reporter, published by the Bureau of National Affairs (BNA). This very thorough, four-volume publication covers all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and is updated weekly. It highlights and summarizes cases, new statutes, and family law news. It also includes a guide to tax laws affecting family law, a summary of each state's divorce laws, and a sample marital settlement agreement.

Most law libraries will have the Family Law Reporter. If you can't find it, however, you will need to look at materials written specifically for your state. Ask a law librarian for help.

Lawyers and Typing Services

A lawyer can provide you with information, guidance, or legal representation. A typing service can act as a "legal secretary" if you need to have documents prepared and filed in court. Typing services cannot give legal advice, but they charge far less than lawyers for their services. Typing services are covered in Chapter 7.

Finding a Lawyer

Before explaining how to find a lawyer, let's first eliminate the types of lawyers you are not looking for:

• the expensive, flamboyant lawyer who grandstands but fails to deliver promised services and passes your case on to a recent law school graduate who works in the office
• the associate or partner at a giant law firm that represents big businesses. These lawyers charge high fees, and few know much about divorce cases or keeping costs down.
• the lawyer who won't keep you informed about plans for your case and who wants to make all decisions without consulting you. These lawyers are annoyed—and intimidated—by clients who know anything about the law. What they want is a passive client who doesn't ask a lot of questions and pays the bill on time each month.

What you do want is a dedicated, smart, and skilled lawyer who regularly handles family law and divorce cases. The lawyer should understand that your input must be sought for every decision. This being said, here are several ways to find a lawyer:

Personal referrals. This is the most common approach. If you know someone who was pleased with the services of a lawyer, call that lawyer first. If that lawyer doesn't handle divorces or can't take your case, ask for a recommendation to someone else. Be careful, however, when selecting a lawyer from a personal referral. A lawyer's satisfactory performance in one situation does not guarantee that the person will perform the same way in your case.

Group legal plans. Some unions, employers, and consumer action organizations offer group plans to their members or employees who can obtain comprehensive legal assistance free or for low rates.

Prepaid legal insurance. Prepaid legal insurance plans offer some services for a low monthly fee and charge more for additional work. Participating lawyers may use the plan as a way to get clients who are attracted by the low-cost basic services, and then sell them more expensive services. If the lawyer recommends an expensive course of action, get a second opinion before you agree.

But if a plan offers extensive free advice, your initial membership fee may be worth the consultation you receive. You can always join a plan for a specific service and then not renew.

There's no guarantee that the lawyers available through these plans are of the best caliber; sometimes they aren't. Check out the plan carefully before signing up. Ask about the plan's complaint system, whether you get to choose your lawyer, and whether or not the lawyer will represent you in court.

Lawyer referral panels. Most county bar associations will give out the names of attorneys who practice in your area. But bar associations often fail to provide meaningful screening for the attorneys listed, which means those who participate may not be the most experienced or competent.

Lawyer directories. There are lists of attorneys on most of the divorce websites. Nolo's lawyer directory at www.nolo.com has detailed profiles that let you see a lawyer's background, education, and fee structure.

What to Look for in a Lawyer

No matter what approach you take to finding a lawyer, here are three suggestions on how to make sure you have the best possible working relationship with your attorney.

First, fight the urge you may have to surrender your will and be intimidated. You should be the one who decides what you feel comfortable doing about your legal and financial affairs. You're hiring the lawyer to perform a service for you; shop around if the price or personality isn't right.

Second, you must be as comfortable as possible with any lawyer you hire. When making an appointment, ask to talk directly to the lawyer. If you can't, this may give you a hint as to how accessible the lawyer is.

If you do talk directly to the lawyer, ask some specific questions. Do you get clear, concise answers? If not, try someone else. If the lawyer says little except to suggest you turn over the problem—with a substantial fee—watch out. You're talking with someone who doesn't know the answer and won't admit it, or someone who pulls rank on the basis of professional standing. Don't be a passive client or hire a lawyer who wants you to be one. If the lawyer admits to not knowing an answer, that isn't necessarily bad. In most cases, the lawyer must do some research.

Also, pay attention to how the lawyer responds to the fact that you have considerable information. If you read this book, you know more about divorce and money than the average person. Does the lawyer seem comfortable with that? Does the lawyer give straightforward answers to your questions—or does the lawyer want to maintain an aura of mystery about the legal system? Pay attention to your own intuition. Many lawyers are threatened when the client knows too much—or, in some cases, anything.

Once you find a lawyer you like, make an hour-long appointment to discuss your situation fully. Your goal at the initial conference is to find out what the lawyer recommends and how much it will cost. Go home and think about the lawyer's suggestions. If they don't make complete sense or if you have other reservations, call someone else.

Finally, keep in mind that the lawyer works for you. Once you hire a lawyer, you have the absolute right to switch to another—or to fire the lawyer and handle the matter yourself—at any time, for any reason.

Online Legal Resources

A growing number of basic legal resources are available online. Nolo's legal resources at www.nolo.com...