Our First Meeting
We are committed to helping you at Brown Family Law LLC in Salt Lake City. Our goal is to provide you with guidance and compassion to find a resolution in your family law, guardianship, mediation or adoption case in Utah.
Our attorneys have experience guiding clients through every aspect of their cases. We will help you explore your options while explaining the advantages and any disadvantages of each decision. We believe it’s important for you to be fully informed of your options and what to expect in your case.
To help you prepare for our first meeting, listed below are questions and our responses for what to expect at our initial consultation.
Do you offer free divorce consultations?
We don’t because we’re different from other law firm who offer divorce consultations, only to let you talk for the first 15 minutes and then spend the next 10 minutes telling you how to hire them so they can answer your questions.
During your divorce consultation, you’ll meet with your attorney who will listen to you, answer your questions, discover your goals, create an individualized plan that will protect your finances and maximize your time with your kids, and then start implementing that plan.
What will happen at my consultation?
During your divorce consultation, you’ll meet with your attorney who will listen to you, answer your questions, discover your goals, create an individualized plan that will protect your finances and maximize your time with your kids, and then start implementing that plan.
What should I bring to my consultation?
Please bring all papers from the court. For example, you may have received a Complaint for Divorce or Petition for Paternity, or you may have a Decree of Divorce from when you finalized your divorce.
Also, please bring all documents (including emails, texts, pay stubs, and visitation calendars) you believe to be important to your situation.
Will you keep my information confidential?
Yes. We will not give your information to anyone unless you specifically tell us to.
Can I bring someone with me to my consultation?
Yes, although please realize if you have another person in your consultation, the consultation is not confidential. This means the opposing party may be able to access the information shared during your consultation.
Can I still have a consultation if I’m not quite ready to file for divorce or paternity?
Yes. If you need information before you decide whether and when to file your case, call for a consultation. We are here to help you decide how best to move forward.
Will anyone, like my husband or wife, know I met with an attorney?
No. We will not reveal you have met us.
Will you talk with me about how my case will move forward?
Yes, we will discuss how your case will proceed in court. Don’t worry, we will not bombard you with too much information, but we will give you a good idea how your case will progress.
Will you tell me how my case will turn out?
We will always be honest with you about what we think about your situation. We will also give you our best advice regarding how to accomplish your goals. This said, we do not and cannot make guarantees about your case. Guarantees do not win cases, evidence and excellent preparation wins cases. It is these last two things we focus on at Brown Family Law, LLC.
Will my case go to trial?
Probably not. Only about 1 percent-2% percent of family law cases go to trial. You may go to court for temporary orders, but this is very different than going to a full-blown trial. The vast majority of our cases are resolved long before trial through negotiation and mediation.
Can you handle complicated family finances?
Yes, we often address complicated family finances. If finances are sufficiently complicated, we will employ experts like forensic accountants to clarify the numbers.
What if I my spouse and I already have an agreement?
If you have already spoken with your spouse and have an agreement, we can draft the court pleadings necessary and work with you to finalize your agreement. When we draft the agreement, you will have an opportunity to review it and request changes. We will then send the agreement to your spouse for his/her review and signature. The agreement will then go the court for finalization.
Do we have to go to court if we come to an agreement?
If you have an agreement, or you negotiate one in mediation, you will not need to go to court. If we argue temporary orders, then we will have a hearing with the court on those.
How much family law does Brown Family Law, LLC practice?
Family law, including divorce and child custody, is all we do. We focus exclusively on family law because we want to provide our clients with the best legal knowledge and legal experience possible.
Can I get alimony? Do I have to pay alimony?
We will need to sit down with you and discuss your particular situation to answer these questions.
Can I get child support? Do I have to pay child support?
If there is a child involved, someone will have to pay child support. Who pays and how much depends on a number of factors. We will need to sit down with you before we can give you a specific idea regarding child support.
If I have been served with court documents, how much time do I have to respond?
If you were served inside Utah, then you have 21 days to respond. If you were served outside Utah, then you have 30 days to respond. Don’t wait too long to respond. If you take too much time and default, you lose automatically.
Can you come to mediation with me if I have already scheduled one?
Yes, we can attend mediation with you if you have already scheduled one.
Who will work on my case if I hire you?
We work on every case as a team. On a regular basis, we meet and strategize together on every case. We review each other’s pleadings to provide excellent service to our clients. This noted, you will have a primary attorney who will work with you every day on your case. Your primary lawyer will communicate with you by phone and email, draft your pleadings, and attend court hearings and mediation.
What should I look for when deciding which attorney to hire?
Let me speak personally for a minute. Hiring an attorney is difficult. If I were hiring a divorce and family law attorney, I would look for these three things:
- An attorney who practices exclusively in family law, including divorce and child custody. If you hire a part-time family law attorney, you will get a part-time family law attorney.
- An attorney who will communicate effectively with me. Good communication is very important and will lead to better results.
- An attorney whom I trust and who will tell me the truth. If I’m going to pay an attorney, I want my attorney to tell me the truth. I also want to trust that my attorney will represent me with knowledge and respect in court.
When does Brown Family Law, LLC become my attorney?
When you sign a retainer (more or less a contract between you and us) and pay the full retainer amount.
Schedule a time to talk with us – we are here to help you. When you meet with your divorce lawyer, we will go over your entire case, your children, your money and everything else that’s important to you. Our goal is to remove the fear associated with divorce by protecting your money and maximizing your time with your kids, all within 3-6 months. We look forward to meeting with you!