People going through a divorce often need legal assistance. We'll tell you what you need to know.
If you want to get a divorce, you don't necessarily need to hire a lawyer. If you and your partner agree on how the separation should proceed, that no alimony will be paid, and no division of assets will be made, then you certainly don't need legal assistance. It's sufficient to draw up a divorce settlement agreement before a notary. This agreement can also stipulate, for example, the transfer of real estate. Ultimately, this is much cheaper than going to court, where you'll incur both legal and court fees.
Amicable settlements are the exception, however. Separation and divorce are usually accompanied by conflict. If there are children involved, the separation process becomes even more complex due to questions of custody and visitation rights. In such cases, you should definitely seek legal counsel from a lawyer specializing in divorce or family law, or a certified specialist in family law. Besides issues of alimony, the dispute often revolves around shared property and the question of who will continue to live there, who will move out, and where the children will live in the future.
In Germany, approximately 150,000 marriages end in divorce each year. There are 9,685 specialist lawyers for family law available to handle these cases. This makes it the second largest legal field after employment law, which has 10,265 licensed lawyers (source: German Federal Bar Association; figures for 2017). The total number of licensed lawyers has increased significantly in recent years, rising from 56,638 in 1990 to 163,772 in 2016. With this abundance of lawyers, finding an expert near you should not be a problem.
When looking for a divorce lawyer, you can ask around among your friends and acquaintances. Perhaps someone has already needed legal counsel for a family dispute or divorce and had a positive experience. A divorce lawyer doesn't necessarily have to be a specialist in family law; lawyers without this additional qualification who have specialized in this area of law for many years can also provide professional legal assistance.
You should check your potential lawyer's website to see how long he has been handling divorce cases, whether he has a lot of legal information on this subject, publishes current rulings on this area of law on his homepage, etc.
Of course, the chemistry between you and your potential legal advisor should also be right. You'll certainly be able to assess this during a free initial consultation. Divorce is a crisis situation with many ups and downs, so mutual trust is essential.
With so many things to take care of in this difficult situation, do you have no time to sell your property? Contact us now, we'll gladly handle it for you.
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