Family Law Dublin

mockingjay

Hope this is the correct place to post, I am considering filing for a separation, however, a number of friends have been through the process and all seem to have Solicitors that are very lackadaisical with their cases, almost irritated by them, take ages to respond to letters and a few of them have changed solicitors as a result. Of course this adds to the financial burden. Many solicitors advertise family law, but where do you actually go to find out if someone actually 'specialises' in that area?

Payton

The first thing a solicitor will ask for when your enquiring about a separation/divorce is a statement of means, basically how much your worth, so make up your own mind about that. But I will say not all solicitors are the same in their approach. When I dealt with solicitors for a separation I couldn't get a decent answer of pricing for their services even though my ex and I were in agreement of what we both wanted.
Do you feel competent enough to do it yourself? Friends of mine have done separation and divorce by themselves and all for a couple of hundred each. All the forms are on courts.ie website.
You could look at the Separation and Divorce forum.

mockingjay

Thank you Payton. Why do they ask for a statement of means? Will this determine the price I pay? I don't think I would be competent enough to do it myself, and I think my other half wouldn't comply if I did, this is why I need someone strong.

Payton

Other than taking out a loan through a financial institution I dont know any other service that requires a statement of means......
You need to speak to your solicitor regarding this. Did they give you a section 68? http:www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1994/act/27/section/68/enacted/en/html

mockingjay

I haven't even looked for a solicitor yet, as I said earlier I'm trying to find someone who specialises in Family Law, my friends seemed to have been messed around by solicitors who seemed to treat their cases as petty little sidelines. However, I don't even know where to go to look for one.

Payton

Most solicitors will give a free first meeting on what your facing into so ring around. Try posting in the Separation and Divorce forum as you might see what others are going through.

Ken.

My mother has a group cert(very old junior cert) education and was able to get a divorce with no help from a solicitor. That being said their are firms out there that will do divorce paperwork for as little as €300 if its a fairly straight forward divorce. I can't link to any of them here because of boards rules but you should google divorce solicitor and your area of the country.

Is their any chance you and your ex would go to mediation to sort out who gets what. Again their are free or cheap mediators all over the country and having everything sorted before court will speed up the process on the day. My mother's took less than 10 minutes on the day in court.

Curvy Vixen

I can fully recommend the family mediation services if you and your ex are on reasonable terms. I refused to go initially as I thought my ex was trying to get us back together and mistook them for counselling. They very simply sit you both down, ask about where you are in terms of wanting what from the separation, ask about finances, kids etc and then talk you through coming to an amicable agreement.

It may take 1 or 10 sessions but was a great way to thrash through the crap and at the end you have a mediated agreement which once notorised is legally binding and can be used in your divorce too. And it's free (or it was anyway!) which meant that my divorce cost me €1000 in total.....I thought I was bring ripped off at the time but am now dating a man who's divorce cost him €28,000 so it put things in perspective for me!!

mockingjay

My partner has ignored both letters sent by the Mediation service I contacted. We are still living together and there are kids involved, but I do know the letters arrived. The Mediation Services had stated that he must enter voluntarily, therefore my hands are tied, and as a result so am I. I don't think he will enter this separation willingly, that is why I need someone that will keep the process moving along despite non-engagement. Thank you for your advice though, it is appreciated. As I said so many solicitors advertise services in Family Law, but it is difficult to find out who exactly I need to go to. I know boards rules will not allow this, so that's why I'm wondering where I go to find out who specialises in particular areas.

divorceman

mockingjay wrote: »

Thank you Payton. Why do they ask for a statement of means? Will this determine the price I pay? I don't think I would be competent enough to do it myself, and I think my other half wouldn't comply if I did, this is why I need someone strong.

You will have to file an Affidavit of Means. You will have to build your own Affidavit of Means yourself, whether you employ a solicitor or barrister or not. Both Applicant and Respondent have to supply Affidavit of Means.