There are a number of questions that I see frequently, so I will address them here. If you have a question that is not answered here, please contact me.
Question: How much will you charge me for my divorce?
Answer: That depends on a number of factors, such as whether children are involved, how quickly you need it finished, and so on. Obviously I cannot provide a quote without hearing the specifics of your case, but I will say this: I have never yet had to pay out on my lowest-fee guarantee, and it is my firm belief that you won’t find a better price anywhere.
Question: I just received my quote for my divorce. Are you a real lawyer? How can a real lawyer have such a low fee?
Answer: Yes, I am a real lawyer. If you check your quote you will find information on how you may verify my status. I am able to charge such a low fee because the only divorces I do are uncontested divorces. By accepting only uncontested divorce cases I have been able to streamline the process so that I do not need to charge the high fees that many other attorneys do.
Question: Judges make me nervous. Do I have to go to court?
Answer: No! One advantage of using me for your uncontested divorce is you don’t have to go to court, talk to a judge, or attend any hearings. Just sit back and let me handle it.
Question: I’m hesitant to hire a lawyer from the Internet. Can we meet in person?
Answer: Absolutely! If you are willing to drive to Topeka I will be happy to meet with you. However, the vast majority of my clients choose to take advantage of technology and communicate via email and telephone. This saves you time and money, and affords you the convenience of being able to reach me outside of traditional office hours.
It is always good to be sure that someone is who he claims to be, especially if you have not met that person face-to-face. Fortunately, the Kansas court system has made it possible for you to verify the status of anyone claiming to be an attorney. You may rest assured that I am every bit as “real” as any lawyer who may have an office in your city. If you need more reassurance, your quote will contain instructions for verifying my status.
Question: I (or my spouse) live in another state. Can you still help me?
Answer: Probably. So long as one of the parties lives in Kansas, I can usually handle the divorce for you.
Question: I have agreed with my spouse about most of the details of our divorce, but there are just a few things we can’t agree on. Can you still help?
Answer: I only do uncontested divorces, which means everything is agreed upon by the parties. This is how I can do them for such a low price, by avoiding the costly court battles that can come with divorces where the parties do not agree. I would suggest talking with your spouse and seeing if you can’t come to an agreement, especially considering how much money you will save by doing so.
Question: I hired you to prepare the documents for my divorce but now my spouse won’t sign the papers. What can I do?
Answer: You can still file for divorce, but I will not be involved in the case, as it is no longer uncontested. You may wish to speak to another attorney.
Question: OK, I got my quote, and I want to hire you to prepare my divorce documents. What is the next step?
Answer: I will send you a retainer agreement which spells out exactly what services I will provide you. I will also send you a link to a questionnaire I have developed which gives me all the information I need to prepare your documents. Don’t worry, the questionnaire should only take you about 10 minutes to complete. After that, just sit back and I will handle everything else.
Question: How long will this take?
Answer: That depends on you. If you get me all the information I ask for, and if you promptly sign and return the documents I send you, the entire process can—in certain circumstances—be completed as quickly as 2-3 weeks. Most of the time it takes a bit longer, and I did have one situation where it took nearly 9 months because the client took a very long time getting the documents back to me.
But again, the length of time it will take mostly depends on how quickly you get me everything I need.