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Illinois Divorce and Family Law Weblog
Helping You and Your Family get through DivorceSM.
Weblog of DuPage County Attorney Raiford D. Palmer, focusing on divorce and family law.
(Copyright© 2005-2008 by Raiford D. Palmer. All rights reserved.) This blog is for advertising only and the contents are not legal advice.
Saturday, May 14, 2005
Illinois Divorce -- Representing both Spouses
We can't represnt both spouses in a divorce case. Ethics rules and good sense prevent us from representing both you and your spouse. The potential for conflicts of interest is too great. BUT--we can represent one party and the other party may or may not choose to get an attorney--this *may* be appropriate in cases where the divorce is uncontested and very simple (like one with no childred involved, and a simple half-and-half division of assets and debt). In this situation we must represent only one person but we will point the other party to the relevant law where a question arises or explain a provision in a settlement agreement if asked. In that case we have the non represented party sign a letter stating they understand that they have the right to retain counsel at any time and that they know we do not represent them. We think this avoids the conflict problem of dual representation while providing economy for couples with simple divorces.
The bottom line is--it is always better to get independent counsel. But sometimes, you have a very simple divorce and you want to economize. In that case, where the parties agree on settlement terms, having an attorney for only one party to prepare all of the documents and handle the prove-up hearing (the final hearing where you actually get divorced) can make a lot of sense.
Please call 630.434.0400 Ext. 165 for a free consultation any time.
posted by Raiford Palmer at 1:49 AM
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