He or she will probably ask you why you are considering a divorce, and whether you and your spouse have tried to reconcile your differences. He or she will ask you how long you have been married and whether you have any children. Whether you and your spouse are living apart or are still together. What are your plans for retirement? What are your assets and your debts? And so forth. Do not be surprised or insulted if the lawyer asks you some questions that you may consider very personal. Divorce is a very personal matter, and if a lawyer is going to assist you, you must be as forthcoming as possible. Lawyers hate to be surprised later on in the process. They would rather know as much as possible up front. The more they know the better legal service they can provide you.

Since you have employed the services of your lawyer to do your divorce, you can fire him or her if you feel that he or she is doing an inadequate job. Be aware, however, that you will have to get another lawyer acquainted with your case, which can delay your divorce and certainly increase your legal fees. Often times clients take out frustration on the lawyer, because things are not going as planned or they do not understand how the legal procedure works. If you do get frustrated with the performance of you lawyer, be sure to make careful decisions and do not act hastily. Some clients have a tendency to fire a lawyer and end up regretting it greatly.

Once you have hired a new attorney and that attorney has entered an appearance in your case, discharge the old one. Do this in writing so that you have a record of when you told the attorney to stop working. You don’t need a lawyer racking up billable hours after you have fired him or her. Check the terms of your fee agreement to see if there is something special you need to do to fire the lawyer, such as notifying him or her by certified mail. If the fee agreement states that you cannot fire the lawyer or if the fee agreement has any other provision that you consider onerous or unfair, discuss this either with your new attorney or with the appropriate grievance commission or licensing board in your jurisdiction. Such provisions may not be enforceable.

The lawyer will ask you what you own (assets), what you owe (debts), what you earn annually, what your spouse earns annually, and specifics about your children, if any.  Therefore, bring at least 2 years tax returns, your last 3 paychecks, your spouses last three paychecks, a list of all bank accounts, investments accounts, real estate (with balance of mortgage and equity loans) and documents regarding any retirement assets. Also bring children’s dates of birth and social security numbers.