Divorce Law in Delaware
How to Find a Delaware Divorce Attorney
Consider Delaware native, Valerie Bertinelli. Despite being beautiful, having a son she loves dearly, being a former television star, and being married to Eddie Van Halen, her life was still very difficult; she and Van Halen divorced. Bertinelli has shared her pain (and her emotional comeback) in her books so we know her truth.
If you are like most people, you sometimes look to others and think, “Wow, they have everything” or “She has it so easy”. However, time shows that if we think that of others, we simply don’t know them well enough.
Truth only reveals itself when one gives up all preconceived ideas.
~Shoseki
If you are contemplating divorce or looking for a Delaware divorce attorney, keep in mind that you are not alone in your struggles. Absolutely everyone around you is also struggling.
If you are struggling with the thoughts of divorce and would like to ask questions of a Delaware divorce attorney, this article is for you.
It will just take a few moments to review:
- Delaware specific divorce law requirements;
- What you need to know about divorce; and
- Whether it’s in your best interest to hire a Delaware divorce lawyer and, if so, how to find a qualified lawyer and how to prepare to work with your lawyer.
Delaware Divorce Law Specifics
- Delaware divorce law mandates residency for divorce filings.
- Delaware courts grant divorce if the marriage is irretrievably broken and reconciliation is improbable
- Delaware uses the terms, “petitioner” to refer to the spouse who filed the initial divorce papers and “respondent” to refer to other spouse.
- In Delaware, divorce papers are filed in the Family Court of a particular county.
- In some cases, alimony is available.
- In Delaware, marital property distribution will be based upon what is fair. It’s called “equitable distribution”.
- Child support will be based upon the Percentage of Income Formula.
What You Need to Know About Divorce
No matter where you file for divorce, you will struggle less if you:
- Meet with a therapist who is trained in helping people who go through divorce.
- Work cooperatively and collaboratively with your spouse and his or her lawyer.
- Avoid court interference by negotiating and working out your own marital agreement, with attorney guidance.
- Keep your legal fees to a minimum by communicating and compromising with your spouse.
- Take the time to do things for yourself that make you happy; consider a new exercise regime, reading in the park, volunteering, spending more time with friends, starting a new hobby, or getting massages.
Is it in Your Best Interests to Work with a Delaware Divorce Lawyer?
You’re likely struggling enough with your personal life, do you really want to try to figure out Delaware divorce law and civil court procedures?
Do you want to negotiate with your spouse or make a mistake and accidently give up your marital rights?
Delaware attorneys, who go through divorce, hire divorce attorneys to represent them. It’s in your best interest to work with a qualified divorce attorney.
How to Find and Select a Delaware Divorce Attorney
Delaware is full of attorneys. You need to narrow down the list of potential attorneys by finding those that focus their practice on divorce law and/or family law.
Try doing a Google search for “How to Find a Delaware Divorce Attorney”. Then, determine whether those attorneys will work collaboratively with your spouse’s attorney.
It’s prudent to chat with a few potential attorneys and ask them lots of questions about everything that’s on your mind. Then, choose the attorney with whom you feel most comfortable.
How to Prepare to Work with Your Divorce Attorney
There are two main tasks in preparing to work with your divorce lawyer. First, get in the right frame of mind; and, second, supply all requested information in a timely manner.
- By “right frame of mind”, we mean that it’s in your best interests to always be thinking of how to make the divorce flow smoothly.
Cooperation, collaboration, communication, and compromise are the keys to getting what you want all at the lowest amount of stress and legal fees possible.
The therapist can help you to manage all of your anger, resentment, sadness, fear, and the like so you can deal with your spouse and the divorce from a cooperative state of mind.
- In addition, your divorce attorney will need a lot of family and financial information from you. Provide it and be just as responsive if your spouse’s attorney makes a request for information; the request will not disappear simply because you ignore it.
- If no requests have been made, begin my making a wish list of all those items such as finances, real estate, pets, child custody that are most important to you.
Collect documentation for income, expenses, debts, and assets as well as any contracts you have between you and your spouse.
- Always keep the frame of mind that it’s okay to ask questions to get the answers you need. Make a list of your questions and ask them during the weekly or bi-weekly telephone conference you have with your divorce lawyer.
Be kind for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.
-Plato
