You might want to ask an Illinois uncontested divorce lawyer the following question: “Can we use the same lawyer for a divorce.”
That’s understandable. Of course, uncontested divorce in Illinois is the fastest and most affordable way to get divorced in Illinois; the process can be easy. But there are some issues you need to be aware of if both of you want to use the same lawyer for your divorce.
Over and over I’ve said on this site that an uncontested divorce in Illinois can be fast, and affordable. For example, it can be completed in about one month. And our office offer representation for a flat fee.
But questions remain about who needs a lawyer in an uncontested divorce?
Can we use the same lawyer?
There are a lot of things you could do, but shouldn’t.
For example:
- You can drive a car with no windshield
- You can argue with police when you get pulled over
- You can leave your filet mignon on the counter with an unsupervised dog
- You can use the same lawyer for an uncontested divorce in Illinois
Even if you can find a lawyer who would agree to represent both sides in a divorce, you shouldn’t. I hope that much is clear. But if you are like most people, then you might think that position is just a self-serving statement from a person trying to generate more business for lawyers. But that’s not the case.
Only a terrible lawyer would represent both of you
In my years as a divorce lawyer in Illinois, I have run across several situations where people came to me with complaints about a lawyer who they thought was representing both sides in a divorce.
Each time I look into what this lawyer did, I find the same type of situation. For example, the lawyer usually appears desperate for business, and the work that was completed is of very poor quality.
There’s a reason that good lawyers don’t stoop to the level of representing both sides of a divorce.
Conflicts of interest are problematic
While it’s true that an uncontested divorce in Illinois is one by agreement, that doesn’t mean that both people in a divorce feel exactly the same way about everything.
And even though we represent clients for a flat fee, we still offer legal advice.
Without getting too complicated, legal advice is something that is often geared towards one person gaining some advantage over the other.
Even in a flat fee uncontested divorce in Illinois, people often want legal advice. They ask me questions like:
- How can I keep more of my pension?
- What can I do to keep the house?
- Is this parenting time schedule good for me?
- What am I going to do if the other parent tries to move outside the state?
For a divorce lawyer to give legal advice to a client, the lawyer has to be loyal to that client. Loyalty can’t be given to both people in a divorce because they can – and often do – have conflicting interests.
If you are both being represented by one lawyer
If you are presently going through a divorce and are “working with” the same lawyer as your spouse, there is something very important you need to do . . .
Run the other way! Now!
As I explained, only the worse and stupidest divorce lawyers would risk representing both sides in a divorce.
Sometimes, unethical lawyers will be representing one person, and will try to make the other person think the lawyer is representing both people. But that’s a scam.
In Illinois, divorce lawyers are required by the Supreme Court of Illinois to have retainer agreements with their clients.
That means that you do not have a lawyer if you do not have a retainer agreement stating that you have a lawyer.