Any Ideas On The Best Way To Obtain A Great Inexpensive Attorney?

[nario]

Spouse's ex-spouse is threatening to take him to court over child-help because he's joining the military--she claims she does not want us to take him, so she'll complete-time(though her idea of obtaining him "full time" is acquiring him to daycare or nanny's when he's not at college, so he does not bug her, but that is an whole 'nuther difficulty).According to her lawyer, she's entitled to what ends up becoming about 60percent of his take-property spend. Nonetheless, he's a girlfriend and two other children to appear following! If he had been creating a important quantity of money, that'd be some thing, nonetheless the only obligations we've at this time are home and car payments(no charge card pmts.), and we nevertheless have to scrimp and save to really handle to invest as considerably as $30 every single week for groceries for a household of five.So, we demand a lawyer. A excellent one which is ok with not acquiring significantly funds from it. Can there be something?

[Jessey]

"Good" and "affordable" are usually mutually-exclusive terms with lawyers.

[lorimar]

No one ever thinks that a family law practitioner is either good or inexpensive because of the nature of the beast. If you lose the case, you?ll be in a bad way, so don?t scrimp now. If you do, you?ll regret it later.   Your bio here on Askville doesn?t say where you live in Indiana, so I?ll give you some general advice.   There are multiple ways that you can find a competent lawyer. In your situation, you have the military connection, which might help you a bit.   What lawyers do when they need to refer a case to a lawyer in another city or state is to go to the Mardtindale and Hubbell law directory.  Here is their link.  http://www.martindale.com/ Type in the desired city and state and area of practice.  I typed in Fort Wayne, Indiana and Family Law. Here is the first of their pages in the area:     Name: Richard E. Beers Position: Partner   Organization: Beers Mallers Backs & Salin, LLP   Practice Areas: Personal Injury; Public Sector Employment Law; Family Law; Mediation; Insurance Defense   Office: Fort Wayne, Indiana(Allen Co.)   View profile  < Select for Side-by-Side Comparison     Name: Daniel D. Bobilya Article(s) Published Position: Associate   Organization: Locke Reynolds LLP   Practice Areas: Commercial Litigation; Family Law; Insurance Defense   Office: Fort Wayne, Indiana(Allen Co.)   View profile  < Select for Side-by-Side Comparison     Name: Daniel J. Borgmann Position: Managing Partner   Organization: Helmke, Beams, LLP   Practice Areas: Litigation; Corporation Law; Taxation Law; Domestic Relations Law; Condemnation; Divorce; Child Custody   Office: Fort Wayne, Indiana(Allen Co.)   View profile  < Select for Side-by-Side Comparison     Name: John H. Brandt Position: Partner   Organization: Beckman Lawson, LLP   Practice Areas: Family Law; Mediation   Office: Fort Wayne, Indiana(Allen Co.)   View profile  < Select for Side-by-Side Comparison     Name: Megan R. Burzych Position: Associate   Organization: Tourkow, Crell, Rosenblatt & Johnston   Practice Areas: Family Law   Office: Fort Wayne, Indiana(Allen Co.)   View profile  < Select for Side-by-Side Comparison     Name: Anne Carney Position: Member   Organization: Eilbacher Fletcher LLP   Practice Areas: Domestic Relations; Family Law; Dissolution of Marriage; Custody Disputes; Premarital Agreements; Child Support Modifications; Parenting Time   Office: Fort Wayne, Indiana(Allen Co.)   View profile  < Select for Side-by-Side Comparison     Name: John D. Cowan Position: Associate   Organization: Tourkow, Crell, Rosenblatt & Johnston   Practice Areas: Bankruptcy; Family Law; Personal Injury   Office: Fort Wayne, Indiana(Allen Co.)   View profile  < Select for Side-by-Side Comparison     Name: Christopher M. Forrest Article(s) Published Position: Associate   Organization: Barnes & Thornburg LLP   Practice Areas: Commercial Litigation; Business Law; Creditors Rights; Federal Litigation; Bankruptcy; Family Law   Office: Fort Wayne, Indiana(Allen Co.)   View profile  < Select for Side-by-Side Comparison     Name: Ronald K. Gehring Position: Member   Organization: Ronald K. Gehring   Practice Areas: General Civil Trial Practice in all Courts; Personal Injury Law; Commercial Law; Corporate Law; Business Law; Probate Law; Bankruptcy Law; Real Estate Law; Family Law; Wills Law; Trusts Law; Estates Law   Office: Fort Wayne, Indiana(Allen Co.)   View profile  < Select for Side-by-Side Comparison     Name: Robert W. Gevers Position: Member   Organization: The Law Offices of Robert W. Gevers II P.C.   Practice Areas: Criminal Law; Driving While Intoxicated; Personal Injury; Trial Practice; White Collar Crime; Juvenile Law; Wills; Trust Law; Estate Planning; Drug Crimes; Defense Litigation   Office: Fort Wayne, Indiana(Allen Co.)   View profile  < Select for Side-by-Side Comparison http://www.martindale.com/Results.aspx       If you look at the listing, in the second line of each entry it will give a position. Anyone listed as either a partner or a shareholder will be a more seasoned practitioner and will charge more. An assoicate lawyer will be a junior lawyer and will charge less.   You also will notifce that some firms list multiple practice areas. That doesn?t matter as much as what the individual lawyer does. So check out each one?s profile. If it looks like they concentrate on Family Law, that is what you want.   If you check on the box at the bottom of each entry, you?ll get their peer ratings. AV is their top rating and BV is the next highest rating. Both are indications of professional competence, although you can find an up and coming lawyer without the ratings who will do a splendid job for you also.     I don?t know your financial condition, but my guess is that you aren?t destitute if you have a house and a car. But in case you can?t borrow money from some place or work out an agreeable fee arrangement, you might want to contact your local legal aid society. You won?t get the brightest bulb in the lamp most probably, but you will get a licensed lawyer with some experience in the law. I?d avoid if I could.   Your third option would be to contact the JAG unit nearest you for the branch of the service that your husband is joining.  JAG officers are authorized to assist military people with some issues and not with others, so each JAG office maintains a data base of lawyers who are willing to take military referrals, generally on a reduced fee basis. Oftentimes, the referrals go to either fomrer JAG officers or current reserve JAG officers. Try them as you third option.   Good luck and feel free to send me a PM if I can be of further assistance.   Sources: experience and cited above   Snow_Leopard's Recommendations What Every Woman Should Know about Divorce and Custody Amazon List Price: $15.95 Used from: $0.50 Average Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5(based on 17 reviews) Child Custody A to Z: Winning with Evidence Amazon List Price: $21.95 Used from: $14.05 Average Customer Rating: 4.0 out of 5(based on 19 reviews) Snow_Leopard 69 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Aniweta]

Normally if someone asks me if they should join the military, I slap them on the back of the head.    Once I see that someone is actually serious about serving our Country, then I will give them the advice and support they need because they have become my brother or sister, and family takes care of family.   I am not sure what branch your husband is going in to, but I will answer this from the Army's perspective.  All the branches will provide different levels of support to your family, but they can vary.  The Army's is some of the best in my book.  You will have commissary privileges that will allow you to get your groceries at near cost.  If you are a coupon clipper, sometimes you will walk at of their wondering if they made a mistake at the register because your bill will be so low.  You will have quality medical care for your family, which will go a long way(people complain that soldiers don't have it, but you have to push the Army doctors just like civilian doctors).  You will have your housing paid for or provided.  And he will receive a Basic Allowance for Substance(BAS) which assumes he would need X amount of money to eat outside the mess hall, but doesn't factor that you are buying your food on the cheap at the commissary.  A smart wife can budget that out and feed a large family.  The housing, food, and medical are untouchable by "you-know-who."   Now you asked about a lawyer...  Well, the experts you need are right outside of whatever military base you end up at.  The snakes you need gravitate to military bases and set up shop there.  They know everything there is about civilian and military law as it pertains to divorce, custody, and support.  If you want someone to screw a soldier, or someone to lock their fangs into protecting a soldier from the law, those are the guys you need.  They really don't care what side they are on, because they know their niche market and they know how to win.  They also know soldiers don't have much in the way of disposable cash so their rates are reasonable, despite their expertise.  They can win and fast, so they charge attractive rates and just keep cranking them out.   Make sure you look at a couple of lawyers though.  You want to make sure that you are getting one of the professional "snakes" and not just some fraud.  Look for one that doesn't charge much up front too.  They know they can get their money later(as they are experts in getting it from troops) so if it one wants it ALL up front, then walk away because he doesn't know the system.   I bet even an average one can get you guys custody even.  You are going to have the support and security of a military base.  Benefits, medical, good schools, and more.  A good off-base snake can convince a fair judge that it is in the best interest of the child for him or her to stay with you.   Tell your husband that I honor his bravery in a tough time.  I was wounded, so I am out of the game.  It's good to see other guys and gals willing to step up and finish the job for offsets me.   Good luck and God bless!

[Chionesu]

You have started with one smart move. Normally if someone asks me if they should join the military, I slap them on the back of the head.    Once I see that someone is actually serious about serving our Country, then I will give them the advice and support they need because they have become my brother or sister, and family takes care of family.   I am not sure what branch your husband is going in to, but I will answer this from the Army's perspective.  All the branches will provide different levels of support to your family, but they can vary.  The Army's is some of the best in my book.  You will have commissary privileges that will allow you to get your groceries at near cost.  If you are a coupon clipper, sometimes you will walk at of their wondering if they made a mistake at the register because your bill will be so low.  You will have quality medical care for your family, which will go a long way(people complain that soldiers don't have it, but you have to push the Army doctors just like civilian doctors).  You will have your housing paid for or provided.  And he will receive a Basic Allowance for Substance(BAS) which assumes he would need X amount of money to eat outside the mess hall, but doesn't factor that you are buying your food on the cheap at the commissary.  A smart wife can budget that out and feed a large family.  The housing, food, and medical are untouchable by "you-know-who."   Now you asked about a lawyer...  Well, the experts you need are right outside of whatever military base you end up at.  The snakes you need gravitate to military bases and set up shop there.  They know everything there is about civilian and military law as it pertains to divorce, custody, and support.  If you want someone to screw a soldier, or someone to lock their fangs into protecting a soldier from the law, those are the guys you need.  They really don't care what side they are on, because they know their niche market and they know how to win.  They also know soldiers don't have much in the way of disposable cash so their rates are reasonable, despite their expertise.  They can win and fast, so they charge attractive rates and just keep cranking them out.   Make sure you look at a couple of lawyers though.  You want to make sure that you are getting one of the professional "snakes" and not just some fraud.  Look for one that doesn't charge much up front too.  They know they can get their money later(as they are experts in getting it from troops) so if it one wants it ALL up front, then walk away because he doesn't know the system.   I bet even an average one can get you guys custody even.  You are going to have the support and security of a military base.  Benefits, medical, good schools, and more.  A good off-base snake can convince a fair judge that it is in the best interest of the child for him or her to stay with you.   Tell your husband that I honor his bravery in a tough time.  I was wounded, so I am out of the game.  It's good to see other guys and gals willing to step up and finish the job for offsets me.   Good luck and God bless!   Raxxillion's Recommendations NCO Guide(Nco Guide) Amazon List Price: $19.95 Used from: $36.98 This book was my Army survival guide, even when I was just a private. It will inform your husband on many things he will need to know on Army life, as well has inform you of the benifits that are due you and your family. Raxxillion 68 months ago Please sign in to give a compliment. Please verify your account to give a compliment. Please sign in to send a message. Please verify your account to send a message.

[Sherbourn]

Predator said: 1 "Good" and "affordable" are usually mutually-exclusive terms with lawyers. 69 months ago