Our Working With Your Family Law Team Tips are designed to help you and the top family lawyers at MacLean Law create a synergy that effectively and successfully helps your resolve your family law matter. Top family lawyers know having top family paralegals and administrative professionals on the legal team lead to quality legal services that are cost-effective.
Working With Your Family Law Team 1 877 602 9900
Help Your Family Law Support Team Help You
This is your roadmap to working with your legal support team. It all boils down to one principle: help us help you. Here are a few suggestions to work efficiently and effectively with your legal team handling your legal matter.
1. Family Lawyers Require Full Disclosure
Be vigilant and organized with your documentary disclosure but don’t weed documents out. Leave it to your legal team to determine what is relevant and what is not. Remember that you have an obligation to disclose any and all documents relevant to your case and the litigation. If you do not disclose the documents you would like to rely upon, you are likely not going to be allowed to rely upon them.
These documents should include but are not limited to:
- Copies of last 3 years personal tax returns – full returns including supporting docs and schedules
- Copies of last 3 years personal notices of assessment
- Three recent and consecutive pay statements from all income sources
- If you have an interest in a corporation, copies of last 3 years corporate tax returns and notices of assessment
- Copies of last 3 years corporate financial statements
- If you hold shares, copies of share certificates
- If you have an interest in a trust, a copy of the trust deed and a list of the distributions made from the trust
- If you have children, and you are seeking a contribution to expenses for the children, a list of these expenses and the receipts organized in groups by the expense and then by date within the group. Also, provide a summary of any monies paid to the other parent either on the account of child support or spousal support with dates and amounts of payments and provide any supporting documents for those payments including copies of cheques, e-transfers, etc.
2. Request For Documents
It may seem when we send you emails asking for documents that we are harassing you when in reality, we require any and all documents pertaining to your matter to move your case forward. Providing your legal support team with copies of all agreements, orders, and applications previously filed will ensure that your lawyer has all the necessary information to move your matter forward.
3. Questions For Your Legal Support Team vs Questions For Your Lawyer
We are not lawyers and cannot answer legal questions. Do not hesitate to provide us with your legal questions and we will forward your questions and emails to the lawyer on your behalf. We are happy to assist you with questions relating to your financial statements, documentary disclosure, and other administrative matters. Here is a nice summary of what your family lawyer and their team can do and cannot do.
4. Time Is Money
If you have a lawyer that has a team and each team member is billed out at an hourly rate based on experience, this is a significantly important privilege given that you will have team members working on different parts of your file based on experience and you are charged accordingly. Use these team members in a respectful and effective way. Be organized. Return calls and emails in a timely manner. Do your homework. If you are unsure about something – ask questions. Spend the team’s time and your money wisely.
5. Plan Ahead
Don’t leave things to the last minute. Generally, the longer you take to do things, the more the proceedings will cost you.
6. Communicate In An Effective And Timely Way
Keep the team informed of any changes in your circumstances and do not wait until the last minute to do this. If there are documents that are relevant to this change, provide them.
Properly Working With Your Family Law Team Leads to Success 1 877 602 9900
If you have a concern, communicate it in a respectful and timely way. We are more than happy to address any and all concerns to ensure that you feel informed and comfortable as we move forward to resolve your matter.
We are on your team. We are wearing your jersey and we look forward to working with you. We hope these Working With Your Family Law Team tips help you understand how a winning team gets results.Contact MacLean Law for a consultation today, call toll-free at 1-877-602-9900 or contact one of our offices in Vancouver, Surrey, Richmond, Kelowna, Fort St. John or Calgary.
