We try to anticipate questions you might have about our services and provide the answers here. If you need additional information send an email to Dwhart53@hotmail.com.  Below are frequently asked questions about Divorce.

1. Do I need an Attorney for my divorce?

If you have any of the following, the answer is probably "yes":

• Children under 18 years of age
• Real estate purchased during the marriage or real estate owned by one of the parties upon which either improvements have been made during the marriage or mortgage payments were made during the marriage
• Pension/retirement plans, IRAs, SEPs, KEOGHs, etc.
• Substantial marital assets
• Substantial marital debts
• Domestic violence occurred during the marriage
• Any disagreement about who gets what or who pays for what
• The other spouse is threatening to:

a. take the children and run

b. take marital property and sell or dispose of same

c. commit violence against the other spouse or kids

d. file bankruptcy

2. Can I afford to hire an attorney for my case?

In many cases, you cannot afford NOT to hire an attorney to assist you in your divorce case because the issues involved are so important, i.e, who will get custody of the children?, who will pay the bills?, how will I have money to survive?, who gets the house?, will the other spouse get any part of my pension?, etc.

As a practical matter, what any particular attorney will charge you to represent you in a domestic case depends upon many factors, i.e., how complicated and difficult will your case be? If the answer is simple and easy, the cost should be less and vice versa.

Mr. Hart’s fees are as follows:

• Attorneys fees for consultation - $150.00 per hour prorated
• Randolph County cases (these are standard retainer fees but the actual fee set or quoted by the attorney at the initial consultation governs, because each case is different. (Add $500.00 additional for other counties - Barbour, Tucker, Pocahontas, Upshur, Lewis, etc.):
•  Divorce with custody, alimony & property issues - $2,500.00 retainer charged hourly
• Divorce with custody, alimony OR property issues - $2,000.00 retainer charged hourly
• Divorce with property issues only with no pensions & less than $50,000 in assets (no children/no alimony) -  $1,750.00 retainer charged hourly
• Domestic Violence only$1,500.00 retainer charged hourly

In each case, you will have an initial consultation fee with the attorney, at which time, he will make a general outline of your case, determine the issues, and quote you an initial retainer fee. An initial retainer fee is the fee you must pay at the beginning of the case (before the attorney begins work on your case.). This fee is put in the attorney’s clients’ trust account and, as work is done on your case, money is paid out of your account to the attorney for the work done. If your case is not completed when the retainer runs out, then you must pay additional fees as the case progresses. Unless your case is very easily resolved, you can expect to have to pay additional fees.

3. How hard will it be to find an attorney to do my divorce?

There are only a few attorneys in Elkins, and even the surrounding towns, that routinely do divorce cases. Divorce law has become specialized in recent years and most attorneys do not do divorces at all. Best advice is to get an attorney who does a lot of divorces, so they will know the law, the court personnel, and have the ability to quickly and easily do the paperwork and deal with your issues.

4. How long will my divorce case take?

Even if you have the simplest case where you have no children and everything already agreed to in a written settlement agreement, it will take at least one-and-one half to three months to get your case done because you must be scheduled for hearing with the court and advance notice to the other party must be given.

A normal case will take anywhere between the minimum one-and-one-half months clear up to one year or more depending upon complexity and difficulty.

5. If I have an emergency, what can I do?

If the emergency is domestic violence against you or your children, get help, call the police, call or visit WAIC (Women’s Aid In Crisis). (Don’t let the name fool you, they also help men with these problems). The staff at WAIC are absolute life savers in appropriate cases.  Then make an "emergency appointment" with your attorney as soon as possible.

If your emergency does not involve domestic violence, call Mr. Hart’s office and set up an appointment as soon as possible. If after hours, leave a message on the machine. His staff will contact you the next business day to see if Mr. Hart’s law firm can be of assistance to you in your case.

6. Can I file for divorce in West Virginia?

If you or your spouse have been a resident of West Virginia for one year or more or if you were married in West Virginia and you or your spouse are now residents of West Virginia (one year not required), then "yes", you can file in West Virginia.

7. What do I need to bring to the first meeting with the attorney?

If you can conveniently do so, it will greatly assist your attorney and his staff by your bringing the following:

• Your marriage license
• Birth certificates for your children
• A typed narrative of the major events in your marriage and breakup, arranged chronologically
• Any financial/ownership documents which are important in your case

8. What is a "no-fault" divorce?

A "no-fault" divorce is a divorce based upon the grounds of irreconcilable differences, i.e., where differences exist between you and your spouse which are so significant that they cannot be reconciled or fixed. In order to get divorced on this ground, your spouse has to file an answer admitting that irreconcilable differences exist.