It’s not always in your best interest to fully disclose everything, but there are some exceptions to this principle, and speaking to your attorney about your divorce is one of them. You always need to tell your New Mexico family law attorney the full truth. While the issues in your divorce are definitely personal and you will naturally feel the need to keep your privacy protected, your divorce attorney needs to know everything there is to know about your case. Without this knowledge, the process can become more difficult. In fact, it often hurts your case when you keep vital information from your attorney.
Before you consider keeping any information about your case from your attorney, learn how failing to disclose information can negatively impact your case, along with your future, in the long run.
Why Your Attorney Needs to Know Everything
This comes down to proper preparation. You are trusting your case with your attorneys, and they are using the information supplied by you to craft an effective strategy aimed at giving you the best shot at a favorable outcome. However, when you keep your attorney in the dark, they could find themselves caught off-guard during mediation or in court, and this makes the strategy they created less effective. It can even jeopardize your case, depending on what the attorney was blindsided with. Everything that your attorney does stems from the information you shared, and they can’t prepare for things they don’t know.
The less your family law attorney knows about your circumstances, the less power they have to make the case go in your favor. If, for example, you had an affair but didn’t tell your attorney, they won’t know to prepare for the impact that affair could have if it is brought up in a trial or during mediation or negotiations. It could disarm the legal argument your attorney had planned to make. On the other hand, if you had told your lawyer about your affair from the start, they could have planned to work around it.
It’s only natural to feel uncomfortable sharing information regarding your marriage with your attorney, particularly at first when they are more of a stranger to you. Keep in mind that this is their job and it’s unlikely you’re saying anything new they haven’t heard before. What you tell your attorney will be kept confidential and will not be repeated elsewhere, so there is no real need to feel embarrassed or anxious about what you have to share.
What You Should Share
Before you meet with an attorney, consider what information could come up in a negative way in your case. Did you or your spouse have an extramarital affair? Have either of you ever been dishonest about the marital or individual finances? Was there any domestic violence, verbal abuse, child abuse, child neglect or threat involved? Are one, or both of you, using drugs now or in the past? Did you post anything about your divorce on your social media outlets? While it can be uncomfortable to talk about these topics, it will benefit your case if your attorney knows about everything that could come up in your case.
If you are not entirely sure what information you need to share and what you don’t, ask your attorney what they need to know. Remember, they have experience in these areas and know how to protect all of your information. Both you and your attorney are working together toward the same goal, and that’s getting the best possible outcome for your case. When you do whatever you can to cooperate, you are giving your attorney the information needed to achieve that goal.