what to ask prospective lawyers? and a phone question
KTdidit
member
Turns out I make too much for any assistance with lawyers, so I went in search of a traditional attorney. [Backstory in a nutshell: BF stopped paying CS, we have nothing in writing regarding parenting time for holidays, transportation, etc. NOTHING] So I went on LegalMatch and was contacted by someone from one lawyer's office so far. But how do you know if the lawyer is a good one? His fee is roughly $200/hr, that seems ridiculous...is that about right? (We live in NW Indiana) What questions should I be asking when I talk to him?
Also, an unrelated question....BF doesn't have a phone at all, no cell phone no house phone (or at least so he says). The only way that I have to get ahold of him is to message him on Facebook and wait until he reads it, which could be days. (He says they have an old smartphone that they can use to connect to a neighbor's wi-fi to get online. I'm sure you can tell by my saying "he says" that I really don't believe him, I think he just doesn't want to give me the number. I mean how could someone with 4 kids in the house not have a way to contact them?!). This makes me really uncomfortable when DS goes down there. If something were to happen how would I be able to get ahold of them and vice versa?! I don't suppose that I can put in any paperwork that he have some sort of phone could I?
Re: what to ask prospective lawyers? and a phone question
While it's possible he realy doesn't have a phone - I think he's yanking your chain.
Is he unemployed?
I think that it is completely reasonable to insist that you are provided with a phone number. XH lives across the country and I require that he give me a current address before DS travels to see him.
And $200/hour sounds average-ish. My divorce was 6 years ago and my attorney was $225/hour.
Well, that's another ball of "I can't believe what he says". He had a job at which he had child support taken out of his check automatically. Then last year he switched jobs and has been blowing off setting up payroll deductions. He told me a few months ago that he was laid off, then when I mentioned something about gas money a couple weeks later, he said "Maybe I can borrow some from work for gas". So, yes, he is working right now. I think he is just being difficult on purpose. I can't trust anything he tells me anyway.
Yeah, BF decided that it wasn't important to tell me that they had moved the weekend DS was down there. So I leave to pick DS up and he says "Oh we aren;t there anymore, we moved this weekend." I was LIVID.
$200/hr is about right for an attorney.
If there's no parenting agreement or court order then why continue to send your son? I think a reasonable judge would say he has to have a phone or some way to be reached/call for help in an emergency. Can't you even get free cell phones just for that purpose now? https://www.safelinkwireless.com/Enrollment/Safelink/en/Public/NewHome.html
Talk to the attorney first, but if it were me, I'd be saying "Sorry you need to come here and visit." Especially if he's lying to you about other things.
Lay out your situation for the attorney and then tell him/her what it is you want. They should be able to tell you if it's reasonable and if it's something they think they can accomplish. Ask what their retainer fee will be. Ask them to outline a "plan of attack" for you and how many court appearances they estimate it will require assuming BF doesn't put up a huge fuss. A good lawyer should be able to give you an idea (albeit probably a vague one) about these things.
Haha! Wow, glad I'm not the only one. I leave one morning last summer to take the kids to BM's and she texts me right about the time I am supposed to arrive "Oh, I am over at xx" (about an hour away!)
Yes, the attorney fee seems very average, I am a legal assistant and would never hire anyone for less than $180. ( they obviously aren't very experienced if it is less than that.)