Divorce

Let the Sikorski Law Firm fight for your property and children.

The decision to file for divorce can be a difficult and frightening experience for most. Once that decision is made, people would like to complete the process quickly and smoothly in order to move on with their lives. As your attorneys we will guide you through the process in an efficient manner, and will maximize the possibility of a positive outcome for you.

AMICABLE DIVORCE

An amicable divorce occurs when both the husband and wife have decided to get divorced and have come to an agreement as to who will keep what property and the structure of their custody agreement, if any.

Many people filing for divorce begin to do so in an amicable way, having come to an agreement with their spouse about a settlement. However, there are many important aspects of a divorce that might have not been considered by the parties, which might result in future negative implications. The negative implications often include: division of existing debt, sale of common property, and custody arrangements with long-term possibilities in mind.

Often, a year or more after divorce people find themselves in financial hardship and filing for bankruptcy due to an improper debt division or negative property settlement.

Obtaining a judgment of divorce includes going to court and submitting necessary and properly filled out documents. These documents are often times confusing and the directions may be misleading. Unrepresented individuals must take a day off from work to appear in court at a hearing, which results in a loss of wages. Mistakes on these documents often mean that the hearing will have to be rescheduled for a later date. Family law courts have a policy where court clerks are forbidden from giving legal advice to parties, which at times results in numerous rescheduled hearings.

We will explain to you the implications of your settlement choices and discuss whether a better solution can be achieved. Your Judgment of Divorce will be tailored specifically to your situation so as to minimize the possibility of future problems.

One of our attorneys will attend hearings with you to make the process as efficient as possible.

CONTESTED DIVORCE

Often times a person who desires a divorce will find their spouse to be unreasonable and even malicious. They might find themselves locked out of their house without any of their personal belongings, they might be unable to come to any agreement because of the animosity between them, or be continuously victimized by the maliciousness of their spouse.

Being without an attorney can open you up to continued harassment and other injuries at the hands of such a spouse. It is important to hire an attorney who will aggressively advocate your interests and not allow you to be further victimized. Our attorneys can help you reclaim your property and prevent further wrongs from happening to you. Having an attorney on your side often means that you can make claims to property to which you are entitled.

It is important to know that if your spouse is refusing to divorce you, our attorneys can proceed in such a way to obtain a divorce for you without needing their consent. If your spouse has left the county or state and you wish to commence a divorce action here, we can get you a divorce. In other instances, you might be out of the state or even the country when you want to obtain a divorce from your spouse or have an action for divorce started against you. In these situations our attorneys will petition the court to allow you to appear by telephone at any necessary hearings before the court.

After calling our office we will set up a time and date for an appointment. The initial consultation is free. You will come into our office and we will get to know each other, at which point we will explain the entire process and answer any questions that you might have.

You will also tell us all the relevant information with regard to your spouse and the pending divorce. As your attorneys, our representation of your interests will be highly dependent on what you tell us about your situation, and we will repeatedly stress the importance of being honest, open, and thorough. Any information that you provide us with is confidential under the attorney-client privilege, which exists in order to facilitate effective and sincere communication between our attorneys and you.

If you do not have the necessary finances to cover our costs and the filing fees, it may be possible to request that the court order your spouse to pay for your divorce. This possibility is based on whether your spouse has sufficient funds available while having cut you off from them, and other relevant factors. If this is possible in your situation, we will file with the court requesting the necessary money as well as any additional funds that you may need for living expenses.

After having met, we begin our work by drafting a Complaint for Divorce, which we then file with the court. The Complaint is based on the information that you provide us, and will include the major concerns particular to your divorce.

During this document drafting period we will keep in close contact with you by phone or email in order to help you deal with any problems that may arise. We also ask that you call when you think of anything that may be pertinent to the case.

After drafting and filing the complaint, we will serve your spouse with a copy and with a Summons. By receiving these documents they will be officially on notice that a suit has been commenced. Your spouse will now have 21-28 days to respond with an answer to our Complaint for Divorce, and if your spouse fails to do so, we can file for a Default Judgment.

We will next meet in court in front of a Judge at what is called a Pretrial Settlement Conference. Your spouse will also be present with or without an attorney. The Judge will inquire into the status of the case. Also at this point your attorney will speak with your spouse’s attorney and discuss a possible settlement concerning property division, custody, alimony, and any other issues.

If you do not wish to settle, then we will advance to trial. In preparation for trial we may employ private investigators, expert witnesses, and other qualified persons that we may deem necessary for your case. During our trial preparation, we can send out subpoenas to find out if your spouse is hiding assets or concealing any other information that we may want to know. Information may include Facebook communications, airplane tickets, hotel reservations, etc. These possibilities will be discussed with you and we will jointly decide whether such choices are cost efficient and effective. With everything ready and organized, we will proceed to trial.

We await your phone call. Call us today for a free consultation.