Divorce Attorney Alex Xanttopoulos On Working With A Lawyer

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Most of us get married thinking it will last forever…..and then reality sets in…we change, we grow and so often, we stop doing it together. Some couples manage to work through the tough times and some couples throw in the towel – or at least one person does – and at some point, the big D word enters the picture. At divorce exposed, we want to provide insights for staying married and inspiration for surviving divorce.

We are talking with a family law attorney, Alex Xanttopoulos. He’s providing our listeners with great tips on how to work with a divorce attorney and ideas on what you need to gather, how to prioritize and the most important part of the process, BREATHING

This is free advice from an attorney. It’s not specific to your case, but it’s valuable.

Part of going through a divorce means that you will need to look at your insurance coverages. It’s a good idea to review your life, health and disability policies and your car, home and other personal policies. This is one of those items that is often ignored because you are focused on so many other issues like alimony, child custody or where you will live. If you would like help reviewing these coverages, get in touch with me, divorceexposed@gmail.com. I’ve been an insurance agent for over 25 years and my strength is reviewing current policies to make sure you have everything properly protected. If I can’t help you, I will connect you with someone you can trust.

Important: I am not an attorney although today’s guest is, I’m not an accountant or a therapist. If you are going through difficult times and feel you need help, please reach out to someone, either a friend, family member or a professional and get support. I’ve listed some resources on the resources page of the website and encourage you to check there or reach out to your friends and family for referrals. Your life matters and getting help is the best thing you can do for yourself.

IDEAS ON HOW TO WORK WITH A DIVORCE ATTORNEY

Why documents pulled off of the internet aren’t a good idea in a divorce
Advice from your friends/family is usually not be the best legal advice. Your situation probably isn’t the same as others. Use them for support, not legal advice.
Trust the person you are hiring.
Your advisors might include therapist, clergy, financial advisor (who is experienced working with couples going through divorce)
Don’t avoid your attorney – understand that the process can take from a couple months to a couple of years. Hearings, deadlines, discovery, depositions have deadlines and if you don’t comply there are serious consequences.
Focus on hiring an attorney that doesn’t just specialize in one area of divorce work but who has experience in multiple areas. For example, an attorney that just focuses on meditation or just focuses on collaborative might not be the best attorney.
Don’t panic – divorce is something that a lot people go through. You will get through your divorce – it might take time to process the divorce or recover from divorce, but you will be ok. Focus on finding someone that creates a strategy so that you have different points of reference
Finding an attorney that is a good negotiator.
Understanding math and the value of money is something to look for when seeking an attorney – someone who understands what the likely outcome will be and trying to balance that with the costs associated with getting to the likely outcome..

5 THINGS TO DO IF YOU ARE GETTING DIVORCED

Hire an attorney early on in the divorce process – looking at expenses, custodial schedule, The earlier they can discuss with you the consequences and the focus of what you are doing.
Create a strategy early – Understand how long will things take, Options for plan B, plan C, costs involved.
Gather financial records – get copies of as much as you can as early on in the process – gather and organize early – this can be one of the reasons that delays the process.
Put your kids first – Make decisions that are in the best interest of your children.
Breathe – know this isn’t just happening to you. A lot of people have and are going through this process.

ABOUT OUR GUEST – ALEX XANTTOPOULOS

Alex is a family law attorney working in Virginia. He is a partner at Roop, Xanttopoulos Babounakis also known as Roop Law! Learn more about Alex:

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RESOURCES

Check out our resource page