Case Evaluation Forms
You may submit a completed questionnaire
form to our office for a case evaluation. We will review and screen your case for several factors. Based on this
initial screening, we may contact you to set up a detailed in-person consultation. This initial screening process
ensures that you have a better chance of your case being accepted. If we cannot take your case based on the initial
screening, we will be happy to refer you to another qualified attorney. For an explanation of the difference between
this initial free process and the more in-depth initial consultation, please see below.
Please download the appropriate form. Fill it out,
save to your computer and email to Edwards & Associates at the email address on the form. Please select from
the forms below:
Divorce Form - (for Men or Fathers who are contemplating divorce)
Modification Post-Divorce Form - (for Men or Fathers who were married to the mother of their child(ren) and are facing a modification case)
Modification General Form - (for Men or Fathers who were not married to the mother of their child(ren) and are facing a modification case)
Paternity | Legitimation Form - (For Men or Fathers who were not married to the mother of their child(ren) and are interested in pursuing legal
custody rights)
Domestic Violence / TPO Form - (for Men or Fathers who are facing a domestic violence case, either as the plaintiff or the defendant)
Intake General Form (For Men or Fathers whose cases do not fit to any of the above categories)
What is the difference between the questionnaire and the initial consultation?
Our evaluation based on your questionnaire form and the initial consultation differ.
Refer to our Initial Consultation page to find out what happens in an initial consultation, which occurs,
in office, with an attorney. When you submit your questionnaire form to us, the attorney or paralegal screens
the call for several factors. After we evaluate the case, we will either email or call you to inform you whether
your case is the type that we could handle. This ensures that, if we set an appointment for you for an initial
consultation, that you have been pre-screened, and your chances of the case being accepted by our firm are much
higher. If we determine that we are unable to assist you, we may be able to refer you to agencies or other attorneys
who can, or to websites that can assist you should you wish to file pro se.
Edwards & Associates does not practice in every
county in Georgia. We limit our practice to 7 main counties: Fulton, Dekalb, Gwinnett, Clayton,
Cobb, Rockdale and Forsyth. Other counties, such as Cherokee, Henry, Fayette, and Douglas
are evaluated on a case-by-case basis. This is not due to inexperience in these counties, it is due to the incurred
travel time you will have to pay your attorney to get to court. If you are willing to pay for the extra time to
travel to your court, and we feel your case is meritorious, we may take your case.
This not only refers to the ability of the client to
pay our fees, but also refers to whether or not it is economically feasible to hire an attorney. For example,
most child support cases cost between $3000 - $7000 in attorney fees. If you are paying $400 a month in child support,
and you wish to reduce your child support to $200, it is not worth paying us several thousand dollars, as your
net result would be eaten away by attorneys' fees. In these cases, we would refer you to a website that helps
litigants who would be better off filing “pro se” or without an attorney. Refer to our county
help page to see if your county offers free forms.
Because of our excellent reputation, we receive many requests for our services. As such,
we are selective in the cases that we choose to undertake. We keep our caseload relatively low, so we can dedicate
as much time as possible to the cases we do take. If we cannot take your case, do not be offended. We simply may
have too many cases to devote the time and attention to your case. If this occurs, we would be happy to refer
you to other qualified attorneys who may have more time to dedicate to your case.
We do not handle every type of family law case. We are very good at the fields in which
we specialize, and there is no reason for us to practice in areas in which we do not have as much expertise. The
Practice Areas page explains our practice areas. For example, we do not draft pre-nuptial agreements, handle
parental termination cases, represent parents whose children have been taken away by DFCS, or parents who wish
to surrender their parental rights. There are many qualified attorneys who specialize in those areas of law, and
we would be happy to refer those cases to those attorneys.
