Have you and your spouse decided that you're going to call it quits on your marriage and get a divorce? Before taking such a final step to end a marriage, consider this; have you explored all the possible ways to solve the problems within the marriage first? Have you tried marriage counseling, therapy, or a MIAM (Mediation Information And Assessment Meeting), for example?

If so, and there has still been no progress, you're going to want to hire a good divorce lawyer ASAP.

It should be fairly easy to find at least a few divorce lawyers in your general area to help you work your way through the divorce process. There are, after all, more than 60,000 divorce lawyers scattered throughout the country at this time.

But you shouldn't just Google "good divorce lawyer near me" and hire the first divorce attorney you can find. Instead, you're going to want to look for the best divorce lawyer in the business and ask them to assist you with filing for divorce.

Check out some things you'll want to consider when you're trying to decide whether or not to bring a divorce lawyer on board to represent you.

How Much Experience Does a Divorce Lawyer Have?

Divorce cases can often be complicated, especially when you're dealing with a contested divorce. Take note that lawyers have varying fields of expertise. For instance, there are criminal attorneys, labor lawyers, and election lawyers, to name a few. Make sure that what you have in your corner is a divorce lawyer who has plenty of experience in handling divorce cases.

You don't necessarily need to hire a divorce lawyer that has been handling divorce cases for 50 years now. But they should have at least some experience under their belt.

The more experience that a divorce lawyer has, the better equipped they're going to be to help you through all your divorce proceedings. There isn't going to be anything that pops up and scares them when they're working with you.

What Does a Divorce Lawyer Specialize In?

All divorce cases are a little bit different. There are some that involve custody issues and others that include a whole lot of marital property.

Ideally, you want to find a good divorce lawyer who specializes in dealing with the type of divorce that you're going through. You're going to have a hard time trying to do something like protect your assets if you hire a divorce attorney that doesn't have the slightest clue as far as marital property is concerned. Military divorces also have unique legal issues such as the possible division of military pensions plans, thrift savings plans and survivor benefit plans. It is therefore sensible to seek advice from specialist military divorce lawyers in Maryland, or wherever it is you are, if you are an active-duty member who is considering divorce proceedings. 

You shouldn't be shy about laying out all of the specifics of your divorce case for a divorce lawyer in advance. It'll help you figure out if a lawyer is going to be up for the challenge of working with you on your case.

Does a Divorce Lawyer Have a Solid Reputation?

Prior to agreeing to work with a divorce lawyer, you should always take a look at the online reviews that people have left for them in the past. These reviews are going to shed a lot of light on what kind of reputation a divorce lawyer has.

Every divorce lawyer is obviously going to tell you that they're a good divorce lawyer. But their online reviews could very well suggest otherwise.

In a perfect world, you want to work exclusively with a divorce lawyer that has earned the trust of those in your community. They should have pretty much nothing but glowing reviews for the people that they've represented over time.

How Much Does a Divorce Lawyer Charge?

Getting a divorce can be very expensive. And you can make things even worse by choosing the wrong divorce lawyer and having to spend a small fortune on them. Some law firms like Cohen Schneider Law P.C. have specifically geared their practice for the needs of families and individuals, by always keeping a close eye on your legal costs expenditure relative to the outcome.

You shouldn't just pick the cheapest divorce lawyer you can find when you're in the market for one. You're going to be asking for trouble if you take that approach.

But you should inquire as to how much different divorce lawyers in your area are going to charge you and attempt to track down one that will fit into your price range. This will allow you to steer clear of spending way more than you may have planned to in order to finalize your divorce.

Where Is a Divorce Lawyer's Office Located?

You're going to spend your fair share of time in your divorce lawyer's office. You're going to have to go over things related to your divorce case with them on a pretty regular basis.

Because of this, you don't want to choose to work with a divorce lawyer that has an office that's an hour from your home. They might be a good divorce lawyer, but their location should automatically remove them from the running.

You need your divorce lawyer to be situated somewhere relatively close to your home. It'll make it simple for you to get back and forth from their office as necessary.

Do You Get Along Well With a Divorce Lawyer?

Just to be clear here: You and your divorce lawyer don't have to turn into best friends or anything. Once you're done getting a divorce, you're probably not ever going to talk to them again.

But you should try to locate a divorce lawyer that you get along with to some degree. They should make you feel comfortable when you're with them and work to put your mind at ease.

Going through the divorce process is difficult enough. The last thing that you need is for you and your lawyer to be getting into disagreements all along the way. It's why you should try to look for a lawyer that you get along with from the moment you first sit down with them.

Hire a Good Divorce Lawyer Today After Considering Each of These Things

If you don't hire a good divorce lawyer to represent you, the divorce process is going to drag on for you. It's also not going to work out the way that you want it to.

Rather than run the risk of having these things happen to you, you should consider each of the factors we've listed here when you're searching for a lawyer. They should help to lead you in the right direction and leave you with a good divorce lawyer in the end.

Interested in learning more about how to make the divorce process more manageable? Browse through the other divorce-related articles on our blog.