Divorce Lawyer: Who are the Various Professionals in Family Law?

When matters are particularly complex or when there is a law of acrimony and bitterness between the parties, it can often be the case that other outside professionals are called in for family law cases. To say that something is particularly different or more complex or more challenging than another case, this does not mean that such professionals will hardly ever be called in to assist the divorce lawyer or to assist the court in reaching a decision. It just means that such professionals are not used on every case, but that it might be helpful if the attorney knows who they are and what type of work that they do in order for the occasional case where in things become particularly complex or messy.

Perhaps the most common outside professional used in child custody cases in Louisiana are custody evaluators. These are people who have been specifically licensed, at least in Louisiana anyway, to perform evaluations and make recommendations to the attorneys and to the court on how a court should or should not rule based upon the findings of the custody. These professionals typically have a license in social work or a PhD or a medical degree that gives them the authority to evaluate the parties and the child and give an expert opinion on how child custody should be set in the particular case before the court.

For community property purposes the expert that is typically brought in by a divorce lawyer or the court is a forensic accountant. This accountant is able to examine books and ledgers and is able to put a value on items that can be difficult to value for, such as a business that is either a sole proprietorship or as being controlled by a particular individual or family for a longer time. A divorce lawyer would employ such an expert in cases where there is a lot of community property and there is a dispute as to the value of some of the commute property or there is a dispute concerning whether one party is hiding assets from the other party or the court.

The other professionals that a divorce lawyer or a client going through a family law breakup could call on for further assistance are mediators, CPAs, or other such people. Mediators can sometimes be helpful if the parties are able to find logical agreement yet there is such animosity between the two that it simply is not possible for them to effectively communicate and arrive at a settlement. Sometimes the mediator is able to explain to one party or the other the options that they are facing and be able to present a solution that they could perhaps get behind. One caution for the divorce lawyer or client seeking to hire a professional is that this can drastically increase the cost of the litigation; such professionals are typically very expensive.

New Orleans attorney Will Beaumont provided this article for informational purposes, not legal advice.