When you are in the middle of ending a marriage, sharing a divorce lawyer may seem like a good idea, especially because it can lower the attorney fees. While you always have the option to share a dissolution attorney between you and your spouse or partner, here are a few reasons why you may want to hire your own divorce lawyer instead:
- Conflict of Interest: If you have one lawyer between the two of you, then it can be difficult for the attorney to represent both of your best interests. What may seem acceptable to one party could be upsetting to the other, which can cause friction between them. This leads us to our next point, which is the emotional challenge of sharing a lawyer.
- Emotions: When a couple decides on a joint approach to ending a marriage or partnership, they often do so because they believe the other person will be fair to them. Many times, what happens is the couple cannot agree on the terms of property or child custody, so it causes extreme tension. When this happens, it can be very difficult for the dissolution attorney to arrive at a satisfactory outcome.
- Domestic Violence: It isn’t a good idea to share a dissolution attorney when domestic violence has occurred between the two of you. The abusive person may try to influence the attorney to control the amount of money or property you receive.
Even the most experienced dissolution attorneys cannot ethically represent both sides in a divorce, so it is in your best interest to retain your own divorce lawyer.
Need assistance with finding a divorce attorney in San Diego? Contact the Lawyer Referral and Information Service for a free lawyer referral and up to 30 minutes of free consultation with a family lawyer.