Financial cases in divorce usually focus on two areas. There are child support and alimony matters and then property cases. What you really need to do when getting ready to go see your lawyer is to figure out what is most important. Get away from the drama, and figure out what really matters. Not just where you are in your life now, but where you want to be in three to five years from now. Also, get your tax returns from the last couple of years and bring them in. Bring your most recent pay stub in, which will show your gross pay and your net pay. If you can, bring your checking statements for the last three months, your credit card statements from the last three months, and, if you can, just do some kind of financial statement in terms of what you own—whether it is a house, car, bank account and its current value—and then who you owe money to. That will be a big help.
You should spend an hour with a lawyer in a consultation. You are going to have to pay for it, but if you have focused in on what really matters then most really good lawyers in an hour will be able to tell you a wealth of information. And you want to know leaving there, “What is your case really about in terms of how the law sees it? Where can a lawyer really make a difference? And what is it going to cost?”
