How Do I Choose a Family Lawyer?

This question must be answered by first determining your goals for the case. 

If your goal is to fight your face off and money is no object, pick an expensive, litigious lawyer.  If your goal is to divide things pretty fairly and not spend a lot of money, find a lawyer who advertises being more client-centric, and is more settlement minded.  If your goal is to fight your face off but you don’t want to pay lawyer a lot, start practicing witchcraft because that isn’t going to happen without a little black magic, a sacrificial goat, and the bottled tears of children.

That’s pretty much it.  The more litigious your case (meaning, the more you fight), the more expensive it will be.  Trial is expensive because it takes so much time to prepare for, plus you’re paying the lawyer for all that time out of the office.  In addition to trial, you may be paying the lawyer to conduct expensive discovery.  Lawyers make their money by billing you for their time working on your case.  So, the more time they work on your case, the more it will cost you.  And we work off retainers, which means you pay in advance, so there is typically no getting around paying the bill.

So, back to the original question:  How do I choose a family lawyer?  Quite simply, figure out what your goals are, meet with a few lawyers, and see how they respond to your stated goals.  In addition, make sure they promise the following:

• Good communication (you should know what is going on in your case at all times)
• Timely responses to emails and phone calls (this doesn’t mean same day, but two weeks is too long, and not at all is unacceptable) 
• Collaboration (it’s your case – you should be involved in the substantive decisions)
• Ethics.  I realize this defies ever lawyer joke.  And if you’re the client looking for a litigious lawyer, this defies logic.  But trust me on this one.  Unethical lawyers make bad case decisions, which will hurt you.  

If they don’t promise these things (and especially if they don’t follow through after you’ve hired them), find a new lawyer.

Lastly, like any relationship, chemistry is important.  Find a lawyer you like!  Not just one you can stand.

Alisha

My ex has never paid child support. How far back can I go after him/her for child support?

Short Answer:  Typically, you can get child support as far back as the date you petition the Court to order it.  If you already have a Court order and the payor is not paying, you can go after the full amount owed plus 12% interest.

Explanation:  The Child Support Statute, located at § 14-10-115, C.R.S. states the Court can order child support to begin after the date of the parties’ physical separation (in cases of a divorce), the filing of a petition (for child support, divorce or custody) or the date of service upon the other party of the petition – whichever date is latest.  If you have never had a case in the Court involving this marriage or child, the Court does not have jurisdiction to order the payor to pay child support before he or she is served.  This means, if you file a petition to establish child support, but it takes you a year to serve the other party, the Court cannot order child support until the date the payor is personally served with the petition.

If you already have a Court order for child support, and the payor is simply not paying, you are entitled to the entire amount the payor was ordered to pay, plus 12% annual interest on the arrears.  Additionally, you can file a motion for contempt against the payor or garnish the payor’s wages to get the payor to pay you on time going forward.

Contempt means that a person is not complying with a Court’s orders.  If you have a Court order for child support and the payor is not paying, that payor is in contempt of the child support order.  You can file a motion for contempt, which means you are asking the Court to find the payor in contempt of the Court order, ask the Court to compel the payor to pay, and ask for a sentence of jail or a fine.  Many times, this gets the payor’s attention.  And, if you win on the contempt, the Court will usually award you your attorney fees and costs for having to pursue the contempt to enforce the order.

You can garnish the wages of the payor to pay regular child support and arrears.  The garnishment of wages for child support is called an “income assignment.”  The procedure for doing this depends on the date of your child support order, due to several changes in this area of law.  The most recent change in the law states, for orders entered after 1996, income assignments are to be ordered by the Court automatically, unless the parties demonstrate an income assignment is not necessary.  If the Court did not order an income assignment in your case automatically, you can still get one.  If your ex has a history of not making child support payments on time or in the right amount, this may be a great option for you to save you the cost of filing contempt after contempt against the payor.

If you do not have a child support order in place and want to get one, you should file your petition as soon as possible to get the child support started as of the date you file or serve your ex!  The longer you wait, the more money you are losing. 

If someone owes you child support, or you would like to get a child support order in place, contact me through www.taibolaw.com or by phone at (303) 653-2509 to discuss what options are best for you.  Child support enforcement can be a complicated area.  You should consult with an attorney before deciding which avenue is in your, and your child’s, best interests.