Getting Started

Now that you have had your consultation with me, and/or with another attorney, and you have decided to hire my office to represent you in your matter, the next step is to call my office and scheduling a one (1) hour “initial meeting”. During this appointment, we will review and you will sign the retainer/fee agreement and pay your initial retainer amount. (This amount will be discussed with your during the consultation.) Once that is completed, we will proceed by discussing your matter at great length and start preparation of your initial pleadings, whether that be the pleadings to start your case or responses to pleadings already served on you. Depending on the documents that will need to be prepared, you may be asked to wait or come back. Once the necessary documents are ready, you will be required to review all the information and statements made within them, ask any questions you may have regarding the documents, make any necessary corrections or changes, and, upon your approval of the pleadings, you will be asked to sign a verification page which indicates that the information and statements made within the pleading is, to the best of your knowledge, true and accurate.

Once you have approved and signed the initial documents, my staff will process the documents for filing with the Court and filing fees will be obtained from my bookkeeping department. Most initial documents filed with the court will need a check for filing fees. The amount of the fee depends on the type of document filed and whether it is regarding a divorce, custody and parenting time, support, paternity, or other family issue. The amount of the fee will be deducted from your paid retainer, so, you do not need to worry about this charge.

Once your documents have been filed with the Court, my office will provide you with a conformed (court stamped) copy of the documents, and will either mail a copy or have a copy served upon the other party. Again, this depends on the type of document filed.

The time between your initial meeting and the filing of your initial documents normally takes between 24 and 48 hours to complete, depending on the matter. If your matter is of an urgent nature, this first step, from meeting to filing, can be completed within the same business day if necessary.

With this completed, your matter is now officially on its way.