[sendosha]

My mother wants to divorce her husband. They own a house together, it is in both thier names. My mother wants at least half the house and she wants alimony. Her husband wants full ownership of the house and is refusing to give her alimony, he says she should get a job. My mom has always been a stay-at-home-mom/housewife. He has vowed to fight her on everything.
My mom knows of a good attorney who is very aggressive and will fight for my mom to get everything she is entitled to. The cost will be I think 6 or 7 thousand dollars.
My father filed for divorce once before because he thought she could not afford and attorney and she would default and he would get everything. She hired this attorney I was just telling you about and my father saw he was going to have to pay, panicked and withdrew.
My mom is now thinking about hiring a Legal Aid lawyer because she thinks the aggressive lawyer is too expensive. I am concerned that the Legal Aid lawyer won't really fight too hard for her rights. On the other hand I don't know what the laws are and maybe this is really pretty standard procedure and it won't matter which lawyer she has representing her.

[ScottGem]

Go back to the good lawyer, most likely he can get the husband to pay the legal costs as part of a settlement.

[cjonline]

Pay the good attorney, no matter the cost. Legal aid attorneys are overworked and stressed out, they might drop the ball and she could loose something that she could have easily gotten if she had paid an attorney.

[shygrneyzs]

I have to agree with the above - get the best possible attorney. You do not want someone who will cave in the negotiations or fail to look for the best possible. Your Mother is entitled to receive all that is due her - her contribution to the marriage is worth a lot more than her husband would like her to believe.

[JudyKayTee]

Does your mother know if she qualifies for a legal aid Attorney?

[sendosha]

I believe she would qualify for Legal Aid because of the emotional abuse.

That's a good point about Legal Aid attorneys being overworked and streessed out. She deserves everything she is entiltled to.

Thank you for all the positive repliles! :)

[JudyKayTee]

I believe she would qualify for Legal Aid because of the emotional abuse.

That's a good point about Legal Aid attorneys being overworked and streessed out. She deserves everything she is entiltled to.

Thank you for all the positive repliles! :)

Eligibility for Legal Aid is based on income only, not grounds. Like every other profession - I have seen some very, very good Legal Aid Attorneys and some who are not as good. Some Attorneys specialize in one type of law but because of a busy Legal Aid office, heavy caseload, end up handling cases in another area of specialization which is not as familiar to them.

In my area there is a brilliant trial Attorney, did very well, retired early but didn't want to stop practicing law, is working for Legal Aid handling criminal appeals - he likes having a 9-5 job for a change and really enjoys the work. In private practice most people probably couldn't have afforded him.

I am aware that in some States Legal Aid Attorneys do NOT handle Family Court (marital, support, etc.) issues.

[s_cianci]

I think your concerns regarding Legal Aid attorneys are valid. Since the aggressive attorney worked for your mother once before, why not hire him/her again? Remember, you generally get what you pay for. If she afforded him/her once, she ought to be able to do it again.