Can Divorce Lawyer Represent Both Parties
Can one divorce attorney represent both parties in Pennsylvania? Every client through my door is worried about the cost of divorce. One common question goes something like this: “We are still on good terms, though we are divorcing. We’d like to minimize the cost of the divorce. We’ve worked everything out. Can we just hire you to do the paperwork for both of us?”
My answer is always no, I cannot represent you both. However, if the spouses have truly worked out every detail, only ONE of them need hire me to do all the paperwork. In this situation, I represent ONLY the interests of my client. The other spouse can choose to hire their own lawyer or simply sign off on the documents my client serves on them. The risk is on them, not on my client.
Divorce is the parting of ways of two individuals. Their interests are adverse to each other. Sometimes, couples are really asking for mediation, a nonlegal function my office also offers, and which I have written about before.
But one attorney representing two opposing parties violates Pennsylvania’s Code pertaining to Conflict of Interest.
Ask yourself the question: would I really want a lawyer who is caught between my own and my spouse’s future best interests? The urge to keep things amiable and save money is laudable – but the instinct quickly goes awry as soon as a couple begins to sort through marital assets. Let’s say one spouse wants to keep the marital home, a common choice, but cannot afford to pay off the other spouse’s share, nor qualify for refinancing. The exiting spouse proposes a long term contract whereby the spouse staying in the home will make monthly payments to him or her. Both want to “get on with things” and obtain a divorce decree.
If I were an attorney representing both, I’m stuck square in the middle of the problem. Who should I advise? Such an arrangement is obviously to the financial advantage of the spouse keeping the home. But it is one of the worst possible choices for the spouse needing cash and capital to build a new life. It makes the exiting spouse a collection agency to the other, thus prolonging a relationship they both hope to sever. Worse, it keeps the exiting spouse captive to a mortgage and unable to obtain their own loans to buy another house.
Do you see why state law prohibits such conflicts of interest between attorneys and opposing parties? Having your own lawyer is particularly important if one spouse is intimidated by the other. The law turns a blind eye to human dynamics in marriage, but is quite particular when it comes to division of marital assets, alimony and support.
Pennsylvania law protects divorcing individuals – from each other, and from their own bad choices.
All you have to do is let the law – and the lawyers – help you navigate the terrain.