As a person in an LGBTQ+ relationship who’s considering marriage or starting a family with their partner, you may be interested in hiring an LGBTQ+ family lawyer to help secure you and your partner’s, or you and your family’s future. There are a variety of factors you’ll need to consider that the average hetero-couple will not, but unless you’ve worked with an LGBTQ+ family attorney before, it’s difficult to know what those factors are. In this article, we’ll discuss what to look for when hiring a family lawyer, and how to know when you’ve found the right one for you.
What to Look for in Your LGBTQ+ Family Lawyer
As a queer couple, there is an array of legal situations you’ll face that are unique to your situation, so you need to find a family lawyer that will meet various criteria in order to help you legally build and protect your family how you see fit.
First-Hand Experience
If you can find a family attorney that’s already familiar with the LGBTQ+ family laws of New Mexico, it’s incredibly helpful. When you work with someone who has experience in the field of law that applies to you, you’ll be able to leverage their knowledge and expertise to make the best, most informed decisions that fit your family’s best interests. Additionally, when a family lawyer is familiar with LGBTQ+ law, they will be familiar with the most recent changes to those laws and if any new legislation may affect you.
Adoption Knowledge
One of the most common things that queer couples want to learn more about is about how to start a family and the options they have to do so. Since many couples take the adoption route, you need an LGBTQ+ family attorney that is familiar with the adoption laws in place in New Mexico and about the variety of ways you can bring another life into your family. Whether one of you chooses to carry and the other chooses to adopt, or both parents choose to become adoptive parents, you need someone on your side to help you through the legal hurdles that come with the complex and arduous adoption process.
Easy-to-Work-With Attitude
It’s great if the LGBTQ+ family lawyer you’ve found is knowledgeable and knows how to help you build your family. However, all the experience in the world won’t mean a thing if they’re a difficult person or in a difficult law firm to work with. In order to make the best decisions for your future, you need a family attorney that will be patient enough to translate legal jargon into easy-to-understand language so you know what you’re getting yourself into. If the person you’ve found isn’t compassionate enough to work with you at your pace and communicate with you when necessary, then you won’t have the information you need to create a clear plan for your future.
Diverse Understanding of Family Law Matters
Family Law encompasses a variety of subjects, including everything from domestic partnership agreements and contracts to wills and power of attorney documentation. When you’re hiring an LGBTQ+ family attorney, you need to look for someone who can help answer any of your questions and assist with the wide range of legal matters that will come up as you build and grow your family. If you have one go-to person for all your family law and documentation needs, you’ll save time and money not looking for additional people to add to your legal team.
Respectful Manner
As a person in the LGBTQ+ community, you already face enough hardship as it is, so you certainly don’t need to feel uncomfortable when working with your family lawyer. Whether you want to ensure your proper pronouns are respected or want to know your lawyer will only use the correct vocabulary and not outdated derogatory terms, you are entitled to the same level of respect as any other client of the law firm you’re working with.
Whether you’re considering marriage or looking to start growing your family, connect with the Law Office of Dorene A. Kuffer to find the competent, compassionate LGBTQ+ family attorney that will help you build your future the right way. Our team of thorough professionals has experience in working with the LGBTQ+ community and all the nuances that come along with it, so you can trust that you’re working with the most knowledgeable family lawyer in New Mexico. Contact our office today to schedule a consultation and learn more.