Louise offers pre-divorce consultation services to individuals and couples who want to know more about their divorce options. A pre-divorce consultation can help answer your questions about which divorce process fits your needs.

What Is Pre-Divorce Consultation?

A pre-divorce consultation occurs before you retain an attorney for their services as either a lawyer or mediator and will provide you with information and offer education about your process options instead of offering specific legal advice. The pre-divorce consultation has three main goals to making an informed decision:

  • Education: Information is provided about the divorce process and alternatives to litigation, including collaborative divorce and divorce mediation.
  • Organization: Outlining next steps should you decide to move forward with a divorce or provide additional resources if you need help gaining clarity on whether divorce is the right option for you.
  • Guidance: Answers to your questions and unique insights into what options you may have regarding your marriage and divorce.

You can schedule a pre-divorce consultation session as an individual, but some couples find it helpful to attend the pre-divorce consultation together. The likelihood of a divorce might be the only point of agreement between you two, but a pre-divorce session can give you an idea of what process options are available to you and what you can expect. If you conclude that the collaborative divorce process or mediation is the right next step, and find that you are comfortable working with Louise, you can transition into an attorney-client relationship for one person or hire her as a mediator for both of you. Louise also can provide referrals to other attorneys, professionals, and resources that can help you as needed with next steps

Strategic Divorce Planning with Louise Livesay

Louise’s extensive background in family law allows her to offer unique insights into each client’s options regarding a divorce or preserving the marriage. If you're not sure that divorce is the next step, but you know that something needs to change, a pre-divorce consultation can help you gain clarity or set out a path to gaining clarity about whether to divorce or preserve the marriage. Understanding the divorce process and implications of divorce can help you make an informed decision.

Education About the Different Divorce Options

If you know that you need a divorce, but want to educate yourself and be in control of the process, a pre-divorce consultation can empower you to make the best decision about how to move forward for you and your family. Even if as a couple you agree a divorce is necessary, you may be at different stages in terms of readiness to accept that the marriage is ending. Pre-divorce consultation offers you the opportunity to get on the same page so that when the divorce does take place, you are both ready to move forward with the decisions you will need to make. A divorce can be respectful and dignified. It does not have to be a traumatic event.

Louise is committed to helping her clients reach out-of-court settlements both people agree to and help families make healthy and positive transitions to two homes. We offer divorce mediation, Collaborative Practice, and other out-of-court processes for reaching divorce settlements. In the pre-divorce consultation, you and your spouse can make a mutually informed decision about how you want to move forward. Several methods are available to help you through this process:

  • Divorce mediation: A neutral mediator, who is trained in dispute resolution, helps you and your spouse find common ground and negotiate a settlement without the need for litigation. Louise can be retained as a mediator or refer you to other mediators.
  • Collaborative divorce: You and your spouse form a team that includes your divorce lawyers and other professionals. This team helps you reach an agreement about the terms of the divorce. Louise can be an attorney for one of you and help you find an attorney for the other spouse, if requested.
  • Cooperative settlements: Louise may represent one spouse when the other spouse does not want to have an attorney and she can help her client reach settlement out of court, draft, and walk it through the court process. Or you may have reached a fairly complete settlement between you already and want an attorney to make sure there are no issues a judge will have problems with, draft the legal documents, and file it with the court by representing one person.

Pre-Divorce Consultation Reduced Rate

Louise offers to see you individually or together as a couple. The consultation is to learn about your process options so you can make an informed decision, mutually if you attend together, about how to move forward. The first decision is to decide which process you will use so you can then select the attorney who is the best fit for you and your process. The session is designed to assist you with making informed decisions that fit your needs and your budget. Louise has found the best way to get people the substantive legal help they need without burdening them financially is to offer an initial consultation at a reduced rate for most cases. A reduced rate allows Louise to set aside the time to give specific guidance and let potential clients get to know her. At the same time, the rate is low enough that it is affordable for most people. Clients who retain us after this initial consultation tell us that it was well worth it.

Disclaimer: Livesay Law Office, LLC does not represent either party prior to or during a consultation. Minnesota attorneys are prohibited from representing both parties in a divorce. Therefore, the attorney meeting with both people in a joint consultation will not discuss the specific facts of the case, will not provide legal advice, and will not have a confidential relationship with either party. Louise can be retained as a mediator or as an attorney for one person after the consultation, with the person who initially contacted Livesay Law having the right of first refusal. If there is a conflict about who will work with Louise, she can provide referrals for both of you, upon request. A consultation is approximately 45 minutes for a pre-paid reduced hourly rate of $250. Louise's goal is to help you get meaningful answers to your questions in an affordable way whether you meet with her individually or together with your spouse. You can meet with Louise in person or via Zoom.

Contact Louise Livesay at Collaborative Family Law and Mediation Today to Learn About Your Divorce Options

Family attorney Louise Livesay practices in the Twin Cities area. For more than twenty years, she has helped families resolve disputes involving divorce, child custody, paternity, pre- and post-nuptial agreements, and other issues. She uses Minnesota’s collaborative and mediation processes to assist her clients in transforming their relationships. Please contact us today online or at (651) 294-2338 if you need help with collaborative law, divorce mediation, or another family law issue.