Divorce and "Free Consultations:" What It Means and What It Doesn't Mean!

As you know, we are father and son Augusta, Georgia divorce attorneys. One thing about our family law firm which makes us "special," or at least different, is that we generally provide a "free initial consultation." In other words, we will accept your telephone calls and try to answer your questions about your Georgia divorce for free! Many law firms charge a fee, sometimes as much as $250, before they will allow you to set foot in their front door or answer any questions about your divorce! But we prefer to try to help people by answering a few questions at no cost.

Naturally, we hope to be retained to handle some of these divorce cases. But we still try to help people even though we realize that many of these callers will never retain us to be their divorce attorneys.

But naturally, we sometimes wish that some folks would realize, before they call, that a "free initial consultation" does not apply to every situation! Consider the following examples:

1. DO NOT CALL US IF YOU ARE ALREADY REPRESENTED BY A DIVORCE LAWYER: Look, if you already have a divorce attorney, please call them, not us! I sympathize with you, but it's not my fault that you cannot get your own divorce lawyer on the telephone! Besides, I could have an ethical issue if I even wanted, (and I don't!), to give legal advice to a represented person!

2. DO NOT CALL US IF YOUR DIVORCE IS OUT OF STATE: Please understand that we are licensed to practice law and handle divorces only in the State of Georgia. If you live elsewhere, you should seek the help of a divorce attorney in your own state! (But to be honest, if you do call, since I'm a "softie," I will likely still try to help you find an out-of-state divorce lawyer--for free!)

3. DO NOT CALL US IF YOU ARE A DO-IT-YOURSELFER: Even though our family law firm handles many simple, uncontested divorces almost as cheaply as some of the do-it-yourself divorce kits available online, we are amazed that some people will obtain the kits, get stumped, and then call us and expect us to help them complete their divorce kits -- "for free!" What is even more amazing is that, sometimes in the past, we have actually tried to help them! But we shouldn't be expected to do so, don't you agree!?

Oh, we also don't handle bankruptcy or tax matters, just as we also don't know how to fix your plumbing or carburetor!

In conclusion, if you had an Augusta, Georgia divorce law firm, would you offer a "free consultation?" Do you see the pros and cons? Do you also agree that, just because it's free, it's not for everyone!?