Earlier this week, The Hart Law Firm took a big step forward. We signed up our first client on a flat fee basis and it feels great. Until now, I had done what most other divorce lawyers do – charge a retainer combined with a refundable trust deposit that I billed against at my normal hourly rate. Neither my clients, nor I, have any clue as to what the final fee would be for their case. The way I see it now, that system sucked.

Clients never called to give me updates for fear that they would get billed for the call. I was afraid of taking too much time on a single client in a short period of time for fear that the client would freak out at the huge legal bill and think I was trying to gouge them. My perceived incentive was to bill as much as possible (not true – because those who work with me know that I try to be extremely reasonable with their bills), while the client wants their case done ASAP at a reasonable cost.

So I decided to do something about it.

Now, for each new contested divorce client, I will offer a flat fee schedule for their entire case. The client will know, from day one, how much their legal costs have the potential to be. I will charge a flat fee for various steps in the process, such as initial pre-litigation negotiating and drafting of separation agreements, a separate fee to initiate litigation, another to attend hearings or conduct mediation, etc. If the client decides to settle the case sooner, the rest of the fees will never come due.

Also, if you are an existing client and would like to convert over, let me know – I’d be happy to prepare a quote for the remainder of your case.

Why does this system work so well?

1. Your interests and my interests are aligned. We both want to get your case done quick.
2. You have complete control over your legal costs.
3. Unlimited phone and email time without getting charged for it, and in fact, I have eliminated the disincentive for you to contact me to talk about your case.
4. I have incentive to work more efficiently and get more done for the client.

Now, if you are reading this and thinking that you really want to do an hourly fee, that is ok. If a prospective client still wants to pay an hourly fee, I will honor that request. But I think that you will probably see the benefits to a fixed fee approach and switch over pretty soon.

For some people, one of the hardest parts of divorce is telling your spouse that the marriage is over. I get people asking me about this all the time – how should they do it, when should they do it, is there a better and worse way to do this… Unfortunately, this is just one of the questions that I am unable to answer. I wish that there was a simple answer, and for some people, the decision is a mutual one. For me, those are the best cases because they typically lead to collaborative matters, which I really enjoy working on.

For others, such as a woman in Ohio, Cracker Barrel is a better place to tell your husband you are leaving him.  Apparently, this woman chose a crowded restaurant (not completely atypical, and generally a pretty safe choice) to let her husband know that the marriage was over. Unfortunately, this story did not have a happy ending. The Husband left the restaurant and circled the parking lot in his car before coming back in with a handgun and killing another woman and a girl. When he refused to surrender to police, they shot and killed him.

I think there are two things that we can take away from this story. First, telling your spouse that you are leaving them isn’t always a safe proposition. If you have any concerns that he or she may “flip” on you, you may want to consider leaving in secret or having a friend or even the police there when you leave. Nothing is more important than your safety, and there are services available to assist you with the transition.

Second, I am becoming more and more disturbed by the level of violence with handguns in this country. Time and time again, the people who say they need a handgun for their own safety are the ones that end up hurting others. In just the past several months, there has been the Trayvon Martin shooting, the story referenced above, and the tragedy in Chardon. I’m a firm believer (and many will hate me for this), that most people just really don’t need to own a gun. And certainly, you don’t need to have a concealed weapon on your person or in your car.

Climbing a Mountain... Best done with Friends.

Recently someone asked me why I do what I do, which really got me thinking about my practice as a divorce and family law attorney. Over the years, I have attracted a certain type of client, over and over. And I believe that the reason why I attract this type of client is my personality and the “why” behind the type of practice I run.

I believe in building relationships with my clients. I attract clients that I like to work with and that want to work with me. I’ve found that solid relationships are built on trust, honesty, and staying true to your word. I treat my clients with a level of respect that breeds (I hope) reciprocation and helps to form a relationship that will last long past our engagement as attorney and client.

I believe strongly in the power of people to do the the right thing, no matter the turmoil that is going on in their lives. And for my clients, the turmoil is substantial. For so many attorneys, especially family law attorneys, the urge to absorb all of their client’s emotions and feelings and allow this turmoil to be all-consuming is very powerful. For those that seek turmoil, family law is almost like a drug that can provide a never-ending source of adrenaline and fight.

I believe in rising above this turmoil and looking for ways to end the fight. I believe that the bickering and fighting that caused the end of a marriage does not need to permeate into the lives of the children and the family year after year. I believe there is a better way to end the fighting and move on with your life.

I strive to look at each case objectively and give the client both practical and legal advice. My clients aren’t looking to “screw their spouse’s over”, and if they are, they aren’t my client for long. Even in cases where we can tell that the other side is trying to “screw” us over, I counsel my clients to take the high road and not get sucked into the trap. When this happens, the only winners are the lawyers, and I don’t want to be the only winner in any of my cases.

I’ve found that I work best with clients that are on the same page as me. If you are looking to pick a fight with your spouse, I’m probably not the lawyer for you. If you are looking for a way to resolve your divorce peacefully, with less stress, than pick up the phone. I might be your guy. And if you are reading this as a former client – give me a call. I’d love to share a meal or a cup of coffee and hear how you are doing.

For several years now, we have offered an implicit guarantee in our employment contracts with our clients. We have decided it’s time to step up our game. Effectively immediately, The Hart Law Firm is offering a written guarantee to all clients.

We can’t guarantee results – no law firm can. However, we can guarantee how we communicate with our client’s and the service we provide. So if you are thinking about hiring another law firm, ask them if they offer a guarantee.

For an overview of our new guarantee and the language we will be inserting into our employment contracts, click here. As always, if you have any questions, give us a call at (919) 460-5422.

One of the number one reasons that people divorce is because of financial problems.  And financial problems, all too often, can lead to bankruptcy. So if you are considering filing for bankruptcy, the question becomes, do you file before or after the divorce? Florida Bankruptcy Attorney Monica Shepard wrote a great article on the topic of Bankruptcy and Divorce, which advocated for pre-divorce bankruptcy filings. Her rationale for filing a joint bankruptcy pre-divorce include:

• It will be easier to divide the debt and property because these issues will have been addressed in the bankruptcy
• You only have to pay to file one joint bankruptcy petition instead of two
• A prolonged divorce proceeding can complicate the bankruptcy

Another option discussed by Ms. Shepard is if one spouse files for bankruptcy on their own. This will allow the filing spouse to become debt-free while the non-filing spouse may become obligated on the remainder of any joint debts (effectively forcing them to file bankruptcy on their own).

There are some other reasons to file bankruptcy after the divorce, which may include:

• You will have a better understanding of your whole financial picture and eliminate the uncertainty of not knowing what your support obligations will be when you ultimately file for bankruptcy

However, whether you file bankruptcy before or after the divorce, you must remember that domestic support obligations (such as post separation support, alimony and child support), as well as equitable distribution agreements, are not dischargeable in the bankruptcy.

The bottom line is that you really need to meet with a bankruptcy attorney to do some pre-bankruptcy planning, as well as, a divorce lawyer to give you some guidance on what your obligations will look like after the divorce is final. If you have questions, or would like to schedule a divorce assessment, please call Cary Divorce Lawyer James Hart at (919) 460-5422.

I have to admit, I’ve been off my game lately.  My blogging record on Raleigh-Divorce-Lawyers.com has been abismal.  I apologize, and it’s time for me to double-down my efforts to get out the content that my readers depend on.

I’ve been noticing a trend lately in the divorce realm.  Although my practice is based in Cary, North Carolina, I strongly suspect that this trend is not unique to my family law practice.  More and more clients are coming to me for an their initial divorce assessment, taking the information I give them to go back and draft up their own settlement agreement, and then come back to me for advice and to give it a quick once-over. Lot’s of people think that this approach saves them money because I don’t have to spend as much time working on their case.

Unfortunately, these folks are missing the big picture of what I do as a family law attorney. I’ve written before about the problems inherent in trying to draft up your own agreement or using a service such as legal zoom.  If it was as easy as just taking some information and drafting an agreement, there would be no need for us divorce lawyers.  However, what you are paying for is legal advice and guidance within the context of your unique situation.

There are only so many ways one can divide up a house.  Either the husband or wife can take it, or it can be sold. But how this works within the context of your case, and whether one alternative makes more sense from a legal standpoint can only be answer by a lawyer. I’ve had lots of client’s come to me trying the “Do it yourself” approach, only to find out that it is going to take more time and money to undo what they have done than if they would have just hired a lawyer in the first place.

Does this mean that everyone needs a lawyer to assist with their family law or divorce case? Absolutely not. And I’ve told lots of people this who have come to see me for a Divorce Assessment. (Some even push me to let them hire me even after I’ve told them they don’t need a lawyer!) But if you are in the group that needs a lawyer (I discuss who you are in my Free Divorce Guide), then do the right thing and get a lawyer to help you – before it is too late.

A Mom in Durham, NC recently lost custody of her children because she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  In an extremely sad case, and yet another shining example of why collaborative law is such a promising tool for resolving family law conflicts, Alaina Giordano has lost custody of her two children because of a terminal breast cancer diagnosis.

Judge Nancy Gordon gave custody of the children to Ms. Giordano’s abusive husband who now resides in Chicago in part because “the course of [Ms. Giordano's] disease is unknown, and “children who have a parent with cancer need more contact with the non-ill parent.”

This case illustrates just how important it is to consider collaborative law, especially when there are children involved.  Even when you think you have a rock-solid custody case, a Judge can very easily grant custody to the other parent – and you can’t predict when this is going to happen.

However, in a collaborative case, the parents have control over the process, the decisions that are made, and the parenting arrangement, all with the help of a mental health professional that is trained to handle custody related conflicts.

I rarely use my blog forum to gloat about the outcome of a divorce case, but today I just have to.

Here is a quick summary of how I met this client and the information they gave me when they initially came to see me last year:

1. Client came to see me – we conducted a divorce assessment and determined that they could only afford to pay between $300-500 of postseparation support to their spouse.  Client had received a demand letter from their spouse’s attorney requesting $2,200 per month in support – way more than my client could ever reasonably afford to pay.
2. Upon being retained, I attempted to negotiate with the other attorney, who immediately filed a lawsuit for postseparation support and set a hearing date.  When it became apparent that the other attorney was completely unreasonable in their demands – (I could not get them to come down lower than a request of $1,250/month or so in PSS) – I stopped negotiating because to do so was wasting my client’s money.
3. By the date of the hearing, I convinced my client to offer $500 per month in support.  Even though this was more than they could afford, we couldn’t be sure about what the judge would do, and it was also possible that the judge would order my client to pay the fees for the other attorney.  Opposing counsel rejected this offer.
4. The Judge made a very reasoned and reasonable ruling – denying the other attorney’s request for attorneys fees, and ordering my client to pay $600 per month in support.  This was $100 more than we offered, but much less than the $2,200 that was initially requested in the demand letter my client brought me at the divorce assessment.

However, this is not the end of the story.  Upon review of the draft Order from the Judge, we notice that the Judge had failed to deduct taxes from a bonus my client had received – thus artificially inflating my client’s ability to pay.

When I brought this to the attention of the other attorney, he realized that fixing this mistake could further decrease my client’s ability to pay, thus leaving his client with less support.  What did he do?  He analyzed the draft order for every possible mistake, tried to add in additional income to increase my client’s ability to pay, and even inserted provisions ordering my client to pay joint marital debts (which the court did not have jurisdiction to order).  In his draft order, he had increased my client’s ability to pay to around $900 per month.

Ultimately, we had to submit competing orders to the Judge who did the following:

1. Denied the other attorney’s request for attorneys fees;
2. Denied all of the other requests made by the other attorney to try to inflate my client’s ability to pay;
3. Denied the other attorney’s request to have the court order my client to pay joint marital debts;
4. Agreed with me that the taxes should have been considered in determining my client’s ability to pay;

The bottom line?  We offered $500 to the other attorney on the day of the hearing to settle the matter.  Four months and thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees later (by the other attorney and his client – my client paid me a flat fee for all work after the hearing) – The judge decreased my client’s ability to pay to $380!

That’s why I feel so strongly about the power of the divorce assessment.  If you have been served with a lawsuit or received paperwork from your spouse’s attorney, and you have questions, call Raleigh Divorce Lawyer Jim Hart for your Divorce Assessment today at (919) 460-5422.

Clumsy Best Man Ruins Wedding in this hilarious video.  Best to keep a sense of humor – you only live once!

Clumsy Best Man Ruins Wedding

This post is brought to you courtesy of one of my holdover litigation cases… It is amazing to me how every dealing I have with the opposing counsel on this case leads me to write about ethics and divorce lawyers. (Here is a past post that was prompted by actions from the same lawyer.)

The only reason I refrain from using this attorney’s name is that he would probably sue me for libel, and my professional reputation and relationships with colleagues are more important to me than bad-mouthing an attorney in a public forum.

Notwithstanding the same, it appears to me that this divorce attorney is willing to do anything he can to “churn” his file and generate fees for his client, even if the likelihood that his client will benefit financially from his work is slim to none.  He seems to believe that what he is doing is zealously advocating for his client – but I have to ask, at what cost to his professional reputation and the judge’s opinion of his lawyering skills?  Not to mention, I would never refer a case to him or the firm he works for after my experience working with him.

Click here for more information on how I decide whether or not to accept a case – note #3: I won’t take a case if it doesn’t make economic sense for the client to hire me…

Family law is one area where the clients can’t afford to have attorney’s litigating every little detail of a case.  90% of our clients don’t have the money for it.  If you want to litigate on someone’s dime, go work for an insurance defense firm or do some corporate work – don’t do it at the expense of the family law client that has bills to pay and debts to pay off.

Do you know what your attorney is doing for you?  Are they keeping you informed?  Do you understand why you are paying them thousands of dollars each month? If the answer to any of those questions is no, you should consider finding another lawyer.

Better yet, consider a collaborative divorce.  Flat fees, more control, less stress, no judges, finish up the case with a group hug – what could be better?  Give it some thought. If you and your spouse are sick of the fighting – give collaborative a shot.  Call us at (919) 460-5422 if you feel your divorce lawyer is being unethical and you need a change.  You’ll be glad you did.