A paralegal is an assistant to a lawyer. He is the one who collects information, analyzes it, and summarizes it for his lawyer. He coordinates client meetings of the lawyer and attends corporate meetings too. He is the one who would do all the research work for his employer. He takes care of minute day-to-day activities related to the hearing and trials of the court.
A divorce paralegal is an assistant to a divorce attorney. Before hiring a paralegal for divorce, one should meet the pre-requisites.
- There should be divorce by mutual consent only.
- There should be no property distribution issues.
- There should be no mutual financial obligations.
- There should be no kids involved.
Once all the above pre-requisites are met, one can hire divorce paralegal services. Now before finalizing a divorce paralegal, a few of his qualities are to be checked:
- He should have registration with the appropriate government agency.
- He should have a good presentation and demure.
- He should be well-qualified.
- He should be very prompt in answering his clients’ calls and emails.
- He should have a well-organized office and workplace.
A divorce paralegal can perform many functions for his clients like:
- They can file a divorce motion in a court of law.
- They can vouch for correct filling of forms
- They can ensure that all the documents are in order.
- They can ensure that all the pieces of evidence are submitted.
- They can ensure that clients are given reminders of dates well in advance to clear their calendar for the court date.
Now we know what a divorce paralegal can do, we must take a look at all the things that he cannot do for his clients:
- A Divorce Paralegal cannot appear in front of the court of law.As explained earlier, a divorce paralegal is an assistant to the divorce lawyer. He cannot appear in front of any court of law.
- A Divorce Paralegal cannot give legal consultation.Since a paralegal is not a lawyer, he cannot provide any legal advice to his clients. He is just a helping hand to his clients for meeting legal formalities.
- A Divorce Paralegal does not have a law degree.Since a paralegal doesn’t hold a law degree, his area of expertise is much confined compared to a lawyer.
- A Divorce Paralegal cannot handle child custody cases.So wherever custody of children is involved, a divorce paralegal cannot work.
- A Divorce Paralegal is not qualified for contesting a divorce case.So, if the divorce is not by mutual consent, then a divorce paralegal cannot deal with such a case.
So, if you are about to file for divorce without a lawyer, you may consider hiring a divorce paralegal.
