You might be looking into family law online if you are considering a divorce and have concerns about the divorce process, child custody, alimony, and related legal concerns. It is always a good idea to do research on topics that you are unfamiliar with, but do you know the full extent of the resources that are available to you? There are other ways you can use the internet to find information about family law online, before you go see an attorney, and here are three.
- Compare legal costs.
- Find family law specialists.
- Understand lawyer terminology.
Legal costs vary by region, firm, and what area of the law is being addressed. For example, simple child custody cases might call for fees between $3,000 and $5,000, but if depositions come into play, and if more must go into preparing a trial, then the costs can be anywhere from $5,500 to $35,000. For legal mediation, which is common in family law where family members might require counseling through the process, costs can be between $2,000 and $9,600. You can use the internet to research the range of legal costs for the services you require.
Did you know that you can find family law specialist names, locations, even rates for speaking on the phone? You should know that a specialist must be board certified. There are a number of law specialties out there including Admiralty and Maritime Law, Appellate Law, Bankruptcy Law, Criminal Law, as well as Family Law. If you need more listings, you can also use resources from your state bar association to find specialists.
If terms like alimony vs. palimony, contested divorce, or PDL motion are confusing to you, then all you need to do is find an online legal dictionary. These dictionaries make it easy to quickly learn what these terms mean. “PDL motion,” for example, stands for “pen dente lite” which is Latin for “pending in the litigation.” A PDL motion is any motion that is filed before the petition for divorce is filed in court.
The internet might be able to help you find almost any information you need, but it can’t always tell you how reliable or trustworthy that information is. When you look for information on family law online you should feel free to take assistance from legal dictionaries, cost estimations, and family law specialist listings. Just remember that any legal advice you might find should be considered in addition to legal advice from an actual attorney or lawyer.