In part 2 of this series we were about to give you Red Flags to watch for when choosing an advocate to assist you with your case;

• 1. If this person asks for fees, up front in any form; retainer,deposit to cover expenses, intake, filing, consultation, etc., do not buy into this program. Unless you know this person or this advocate comes reccomened by someone you know that has been assisted, keep your money for a qualified attorney.
• 2. Never take originals of any of your personal papers/documentation to any of these meetings; Has this person taken time to read your documentation, have they taken notes. If they tell you they need originals this is not true, until you get to know them, do not trust them with originals of your journals, or your documentation.
• 3. It takes hours to learn the specifics of each individuals case, if they indicate that they understand all the aspects of your case in minutes, use the next exit.
• 4. Do not give them a check, bank account numbers, access codes, passwords, etc. even with the assurance that the check is just to be held for security.
• 5. If they assure you they will successfully get your child (ren) back, this is a lie, no one can guarantee that, not even your attorney.
• 6. Ask for printed materials to see work completed by this individual, CD’s, books, brochures, pamphlets, etc. Is there a cost for the purchase of these materials? Ask what the cost is?
• 7. Ask if they have a business card, do they have a website address. How long have they been in existence? Website just created, business card still wet from printing? Check them out.
• 8. Is this person telling you that all work will be completed on your behalf by them redflag. Are they telling you the work will be done by an attorney free of charge?

We have found that real advocates do not have time to do all the work on your behalf ourselves, nor do we want to. You will be asked  to assist in this project, to learn how to do the work yourself, and we will try to help you understand the complexities of your case, however you must organize your paperwork into what we call your “Law Book”. For more information go to nfpcar.org