Through Our Eyes – A Paralegal’s View into Spousal Support (Post-Separation Support and Alimony)
As a Family Law paralegal, assisting clients with regard to spousal support is an important skill. When a client comes to your office, they are often scared and concerned about their financial future. It is imperative to provide knowledge and expertise with respect to financial matters, while also being patient and understanding of the client’s concerns.
Helping a client navigate a spousal support case requires the paralegal to be knowledgeable of financial matters. Paralegals must also know how to obtain the documents necessary to calculate spousal support. As a matter of fact, there are potentially more documents needed for a spousal support case than in a child support case. Paralegals also need to understand how to do an analysis of their client’s monthly financial needs. This can be challenging because many people do not know how much their monthly expenses are, possibly due to the other spouse paying the bills. It is the paralegal’s duty to help clients determine how to obtain financial documents and what their expenses are. Paralegals need to know how to obtain online access to accounts, contact information for banks, find lender information for a mortgage, and other types of documents. Additionally, a paralegal must be able to assist clients in completing a financial analysis (Financial Affidavit) of their expenses. This is crucial to helping them determine how much support they need to survive each month. This can also be very time-consuming. Having tools at your fingertips to assist clients with document discovery and calculating their monthly expenses is critical to being a Family Law paralegal.
Emotions often play a large role in spousal support cases. As a paralegal, it is necessary to help clients stay focused during this process. If one party is accused of having an extramarital affair, excessive spending, or being underemployed, these facts can add to the already heightened emotions they are surely feeling. It is imperative for a paralegal to maintain professionalism when dealing with these sensitive issues. Paralegals must be patient and calm, while simultaneously and carefully maneuvering around the client’s feelings, in order to gather the background information your attorney needs.
Ultimately, as with most cases, it is essential to be patient, calm and understanding when dealing with family law clients. Attorneys expect paralegals to help clients prepare their case for negotiation or litigation by document gathering, but there is so much more. Paralegals help clients focus on the most important aspects of their case, set realistic expectations and assist attorneys in dealing with the client’s concerns so they are prepared to move forward toward a resolution.
(If someone you know needs legal assistance, have them contact an attorney for a consultation. It is imperative to get legal advice, even if someone is looking to represent themselves.)
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Peggy Pardue is a North Carolina Certified Paralegal with Hampson Family Law. She is a member of the North Carolina Bar Association Paralegal Division – Family Law Section, she is the liaison for the Paralegal Division for the Family Law Section, she is a current Council Member for the Paralegal Division of the North Carolina Bar Association, and she is a Notary Public. Peggy has volunteered as a proctor for the North Carolina Paralegal Certification Exam and has been a volunteer for the NCAJ High School Mock Trial Competition. Peggy was also the lead planner in two family law CLEs for Paralegals. Peggy began working as a Paralegal in 2003 with Meredith J. McGill, P.A., and continued when the firm’s name changed to McGill & Hampson, P.A. She continued her role as a Family Law Paralegal transitioning to Hampson Family Law when it opened in 2017. Prior to becoming a paralegal, Peggy was with the North Carolina State Board of CPA Examiners, where she worked for seven years in their disciplinary section. Subsequently, she was an Executive Assistant with a local propane company. Peggy was born in Haddonfield, New Jersey, but has been in the Raleigh area since 1969. When she is not working, Peggy enjoys spending time with family, doing home improvement projects, fishing, boating, motorcycle charity rides, and traveling.