Hi Chris – It will all depend on what the court says, but it’s very possible, since your children are the ultimate beneficiaries.

Of all of those, only a few were outstanding and I refer everyone I can to them. The others were terrible and caused more stress then help. On a few occasions I’ve fired attorneys and done a better job using Nolo products (which is not something I’d recommend).

Here are some additional suggestions to the already great one provided.

1. When you find a good one that you can trust, treat them like gold, and refer everyone you can to them. When you form a great relationship where private un-billed cell phone calls on the weekends are welcomed, you’ve succeeded, and don’t be shy about rewarding those few with referrals.

2. Most important. Do NOT get involved with an attorney that bills by the hour until you’ve established a trusting relationship like what I described above. Most, not all, do everything they can to rack up the billable hours, and little to quickly solve your problem.

3. Ask this very difficult question. “What motive do you have as an attorney to quickly and efficiently solve my problem?” Most can’t answer that question very well if their billing structure is to maximize billable hours.

You and the attorney have competing goals. If you’ve hired a lawyer, often you want it to be as quick and painless as possible, whereas their goal is often to make it as long and painful as possible, to increase fees. When you get a good answer to that question, you’ve got a winner.