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THE INITIAL LAWYER/CLIENT DIVORCE CONFERENCE: CONSULTATION OR EVALUATION? |
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For what reasons do people seek an initial consultation with a lawyer about a divorce? |
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What subjects should be covered in the initial consultation? |
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Will the lawyer give me accurate and precise advice? |
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What type of projections does Gitlin, Busche & Stetler make at the initial consultation? |
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How does Gitlin, Busche & Stetler strive for accuracy in the divorce projections it makes? |
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If there are no statutory formulas for other matters and if a party qualifies for maintenance or alimony, or for division of assets, how does Gitlin, Busche & Stetler quantify these areas in terms of percentages? |
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| Q: |
For what reasons do people seek an initial consultation with a lawyer about a divorce? |
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There are many reasons. Most people seeking a consultation do not intend to initiate an immediate divorce, or have not yet been served with divorce papers. All initial inquiries, however, have a common element: at least one of the parties believes the marriage is not going well. The usual first questions is: “What are my rights, or my obligations, if there is a divorce?” This is the right question. A divorce is a new and strange place. You are rightfully concerned about the future of the children and your financial future if there is a divorce. You should be seeking an evaluation of your situation, that is, a projection of the likely outcome in regard to the children and financially in the event of a divorce. |
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| Q: |
What subjects should be covered in the initial consultation? |
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If children are involved, they are the first consideration both financially and in terms of who gets their custody. Contested custody cases are rare, but they do happen. There is also the matter of the amount of child support. The next financial issue is whether there will be maintenance (alimony). The third area on which you need advice is regarding the laws relating to division of assets.
There are other areas, in divorce cases, such as: (1) Rights of the custodial parent. (2) Removal of the children from Illinois. (3) Visitation by the non-custodial parent. (4) The obligation for post-high school education of children. (5) Sometimes the subject of domestic violence must be discussed.
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Will the lawyer give me accurate and precise advice? |
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Lawyers with some degree of experience in divorce work should be able to, and should, give you knowledgeable advice on all the above subjects. |
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| Q: |
What type of projections does Gitlin, Busche & Stetler make at the initial consultation? |
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During my first five years in practice, in Woodstock, I had the good fortune of working with a very gifted personal injury lawyer. I observed that shortly after our firm was retained in a personal injury case (usually automobile accident), the personal injury lawyer would obtain a copy of the police report of the accident, would also have the client’s version of how the accident happened, and would have all the medical bills and doctors’ reports, plus knowing about lost wages. Based on this data, and very early on in a case, this lawyer would make a projection of the likely amount the case would settle for outside of court, or the likely amount awarded by a jury verdict. This gave the client, early on, knowledge of how the case was likely to come out. Thus Gitlin, Busche & Stetler views the initial conference as an evaluation rather than merely a consultation.
After I narrowed my practice to family law, I decided that I should be able, in initial client consultations, to make projections of how the case would come out, much like my former partner, the personal injury lawyer did. This is what Gitlin, Busche & Stetler attempts to do.
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| Q: |
How does Gitlin, Busche & Stetler strive for accuracy in the divorce projections it makes? |
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In as much as possible, we attempt to quantify our projections. Aside from custody and visitation, the projections that are made, that is the advice that is given, can be reduced to numbers, and usually in terms of percentages. An example of quantification is the financial projection which is the easiest to make, child support, and this is because a statute has the formula for computing child support and provides 20 percent of net income for one child, 28 percent for two children, 32 percent for three children, etc. For the other financial areas, however, there are no statutory formulas. |
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| Q: |
If there are no statutory formulas for other matters and if a party qualifies for maintenance or alimony, or for division of assets, how does Gitlin, Busche & Stetler quantify these areas in terms of percentages? |
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I have been writing and lecturing to lawyers on law topics for several decades. In 1991 I wrote the book, Gitlin on Divorce, a Guide to Illinois Matrimonial Law. The book is used by lawyers and judges, including the Illinois Appellate Courts citing the book as authority many times. The book is in three volumes and is in its third publication. It is annually updated for new statutory and case law. For the sake of being able to quantify advice to Gitlin, Busche & Stetler clients, and to my readers, I did a statistical analysis of the percentage amount of maintenance and property awards as related to the length of the marriage and other pertinent factors. For example, for marriages of more than 20 years, the average maintenance award, which has been approved by the appellate courts, is currently 29.2 percent. Thus, Gitlin, Busche & Stetler, at the initial evaluation, will make projections. The statistics kept by Gitlin, Busche & Stetler are not a guarantee of what a trial court judge will do, but they are the best available basis for a projection. |
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QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
INDEX |
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