Hire a Bellevue Family Law Attorney for Your Divorce

By: Mckinley Irvin
When a couple divorces, there are three basic areas of concern for your Bellevue family law attorney. First are child issues: developing a parenting plan, setting child support, allocating decision making, among other issues. Second are property issues: who will retain what property, what property is separate and which community? Third are spousal maintenance issues: will one former spouse have to support the other for some time after divorce? Your Bellevue family law attorney can help you understand where you stand on each of these issues, and how you should approach your case.

Contested children’s issues can be very complicated. When courts must determine which parent shall be the primary residential parent, an expensive fact finding campaign ensues. Any Bellevue family law attorney will tell you that making agreements on child issues are cost effective. However, agreements between warring divorce parties is not always possible, and court action is necessary. Therefore, when you go to court, you’ll want an experienced Bellevue family law attorney on your side.

Property issues are also something you wouldn’t want to evaluate yourself. Washington State family law regarding community property is quite complex and it takes Bellevue family law attorneys years to master its application. Besides, when you consider that it is only the fruit of your life’s work at stake, hiring a Bellevue family law attorney to help protect your interests seems like a good idea.

Spousal maintenance is ordered by the court in situations such as where one spouse has worked outside the home to earn income and the other spouse has been dependant on that income and now has little or no way to earn his or her own income. The precise law and its application to your case should be explained by an experienced Bellevue family attorney because much depends upon the facts of each individual case.

Before you decide whether to hire a lawyer to handle your case, consider whether trusting your own experience in the law is worth risking the above issues. Instead, why not discuss your case with an expert Bellevue family law attorney from McKinley Irvin? Our lawyers have years of experience in Washington State divorce cases and can answer your questions about divorce, child custody, and spousal maintenance.

Mcklinley Irvin- Please Visit http://www.mckinleyirvin.com for further details.

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Lemon Law Firms Are Not All Created Equal

By: Paul Fleming
Thanks to the world wide web, anyone can promote their services on-line through systems like google adwords. This enables law firms to target specific terms and pay to appear under these terms. There is no filter. There currently is no law against doing so. The disturbing fact is that folks can write anything in their ads that they want - there is no control or protocol. Law firms can tell prospective clients they have 20 years experience in a particular state like Pennsylvania where they have not. While we think this is poor form, we don't necessarily fault them, they're trying to make some money. It does mean however, that you may not be getting the service you expect so you need to know who you are hiring.

When hiring a lemon law attorney, it is very important that you ask questions and not rely solely on self-promoting advertisements and websites. Here are some items you should always consider:

Experience - How long has the company been around for?

Honors, Awards and Recognition - Has the company or lawyers received accolades for their service?

Locations - Beware of the fake office! Very few Lemon Law firms have physical offices in other states, but many of them say they do. Try calling the local phone number or stopping by sometime.

Unfortunately, firms sometimes buy "addresses" to look more established and gain new business. We know of one firm that has no offices in many of the states they claim to practice in. If you see a little asterisk explaining that these are "of counsel" locations, it means they are not directly owned or operated by the law firm. Be as wary of the "of counsel" lawyer as you would be of the "of counsel" surgeon. Limited knowledge and lack of experience is often the hallmark of such arrangements and that could detrimentally affect your case.

Credibility - In many states, lawyers are not permitted to use the terms "expert", "specialist", or "premier" in advertising because it gives the public an impression that cannot be verified by objective proof. Sadly, the rules are not always enforced and some firms use them anyway. Rather than accepting the self-promoting tag lines of a law firm, look around and see what community leaders, legislators and the media say.

Former Clients - see if there are testimonials or even blogs from previous clients.

Need more Information? Here are some questions you need to ask a lemon law firm:

- How long has the lawyer been practicing law?
- How long has the lawyer practiced Lemon Law?
- Does the lawyer have a license to practice in the client's state? (Very important)
- Has the lawyer received any recognition, honors or awards for work performed in the client's state?
- Has a successful verdict the lawyer tried ever been reported in a legal case reporter? If so, identify the case.
- When was the last time the lawyer received a successful verdict in a Lemon Law case?
- Can the lawyer provide any references of other clients, attorneys, or judges in the client's state? - If my case cannot be resolved right away, and a lawsuit is necessary, where would it be filed and why?
- How is the lawyer compensated?
- Is the client advised in writing at the start of the case what their rights and responsibilities are? - Is a mechanical expert utilized by the law firm to help prove the case, and if so, is his/her involvement free to the client? (We have four ASE-certified experts on staff)
- What does the client need to do to assist the lawyer in a case?
- Does the lawyer have a physical office within the client's state?
- Is a lawyer and/or their staff available to speak with clients on a daily basis?

Authors Michael Sacks and Paul Fleming represent Kimmel & Silverman who have been providing cost-free, quality legal representation to distressed consumers of "lemon" cars since 1991. Contact them at http://www.lemonlaw.com/mail.html or visit their website at http://www.lemonlaw.com .

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