To put it bluntly a good family law attorney stops a man from completely losing everything. It is no secret that in 2010 the divorce rulings have a large bias to being favorable towards the woman and a man needs an attorney who knows the state family laws like the back of his hand if he does not wish to be "taken to the cleaners." When a couple files for divorce there are several responsibilities the court must make sure will be cared for. These include your liabilities, your spouse, and your children.

All the long term debts and liabilities will fall on your shoulder. If your wife had a good job she might be required to pay for half. Technically debts that were0 acquired during your marriage should be split "equitably" when you get a divorce. Rarely happens like its supposed to and you will be paying for most of those debts if you do not get a decent family law attorney.

The next item is alimony (also called "spousal support," or "maintenance"). When you were married your wife and yourself established a certain standard of living. The laws are set up in most states to protect this standard of living for your wife. You will be ordered to make payments to her to give her a life as close as possible to the one she had when you both were married to each other.

Lastly, we come to child support. This figure is supposed to be based off the income of both parents. In reality it is calculated based on the income of the man. Many states like Washington can take up to 45% of your net income for child support payments. Ouch!

You are not going to be able to get out of paying for many of these items. Its the cost of divorce. Never does the standard of living go up for anyone after a dissolution of a marriage. It is best to avoid them altogether. If a family law attorney is able to talk to both parties in the beginning he will usually make certain both parties cannot work out their differences. In most cases a couple can if they really put forth effort. Nevertheless, if a divorce is unavoidable then the husband needs to seek a qualified professional trained in family law. He needs to get legal advice on how to proceed before the divorce papers are even files and needs to have a family law attorney there in court with him.

Do not worry about costs. However expensive you think your family law attorney is, believe me, it will more expensive for you not to have him there in the long run.