As a divorce lawyer, I have answered A LOT of phone calls from potential clients. Some questions that nearly every person I talk has is: “what do I need to bring with me?” or “what are we going to discuss?”
Answering questions like the ones above got me to thinking about what people should know before they walk into a law office to talk with a lawyer. (As an aside, I know that talking with a lawyer may be a difficult experience for some people and I want to make that experience easier.)
So, what might your lawyer ask you when you initially meet with him or her?
In the family law context, I usually have a prepared set of questions that I want to ask as a lawyer. Every case is different and I need to be able to react to the facts that are given to me, but I can tell you that I ask virtually the same questions in every family law or divorce consultation that I do.
For starters, I need to know about you, the client. I need your name, address, phone numbers, email, date-of-birth, social security numbers, and information about your finances. The same goes for your children and your spouse depending on what kind of consultation I am doing.
I have a questionnaire form that I use at my office for nearly every client. I’ve changed the form somewhat for this blog post, but the general questionnaire goes something like this:
- About You
- Full Legal Name: ____
- Date of Birth: ____
- Current Residential Address: ____
- Phone numbers: ____
- Social Security Number: ____
- About Your Spouse
- Your Spouses’ true and correct name: ____
- Your Spouses’ date of birth: ____
- Your Spouses’ address & telephone: ______
- Your Spouses’ social security number: _____
- Legal Representation – Spouse
- Does your spouse have legal representation?: ___
- Residence
- Have your spouse and/or you lived at your residence or in the state for the requisite amount of time to be able to utilize the states’ court system?: ___
- Date of Marriage
- Date: ____
- City & County: ____
- First Marriage?: ____
- When were you separated from your spouse: ___
- Children-Custody
- Name: ___
- Date of Birth: ____
- Social Security Numbers: ___
- Are you seeking sole physical & legal custody?: ___
- Step-Children
- Do you have any step-children?: ___
- Orders for Protection
- Are you seeking or do you need an order for protection from the court?: ___
- Pre-marital (antenuptial agreements)
- Do you have a pre-marital agreement with your spouse?: ____
- Marital Assets
- Real Estate: ___
- Automobiles: ____
- Bank accounts: ___
- Investments: ____
- Retirement accounts: _____
- Insurance: _____
- Business Interests: ____
- Jewelry-Arts: ____
- Miscellaneous: ___
- Marital Debts
- Mortgages: ___
- Loans: ____
- Credit Cards: ___
- Vehicle Debts: ___
- Personal Loans: ___
- Additional Information
As you can see, there is a great deal of information that your Apple Valley MN divorce lawyer will need when the initial consultation is conducted. The above form is only a basic form. Many other questions can and will be asked depending on who your lawyer is an where you are located. The law varies from state-to-state and your lawyer may need different kinds of information depending on the law in your state.
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