More and more people these days are getting a divorce without an attorney.
Going through a separation with your spouse is tough. Getting divorced can be devastating. Paying attorney fees can be crippling. If you and your spouse can manage to work together, you can save thousands of dollars getting a divorce without an attorney.
It is not required by law that you hire a lawyer to process your divorce. In fact, the divorce itself is simply a matter of filing the necessary paperwork with your local court system.
Why pay a lawyer thousands of dollars when you and your spouse can just as easily get the necessary paperwork, fill it out, sign it and file it with the courts?
Getting a divorce without an attorney does require cooperation
Okay, it’s not all a piece of cake: you and your spouse have to agree to the terms of your divorce. Terms can include child custody, child support, spousal support, visitation times, and property division. Unless a situation is dangerous or there is a great deal of money involved, failing to cooperate to get a divorce will result in a major waste of thousands of your dollars.
Guess what? If you hire a lawyer, you and your spouse will end up negotiating through high-priced lawyers. You will not get all that you want; both of you will compromise. The saying “if both parties walk away unhappy it must be a good deal” applies to divorce negotiations as well.
Keep in mind
You can always get legal advice at any stage. In fact, it’s a good idea to consult a lawyer for an opinion about your rights generally. That does not mean you need to hire a attorney to do your full case. Learn your rights generally, then avoid the long and expensive process of divorce court.
Divorce tools
If the two of you just can’t quite agree on the terms, you could consider hiring a divorce mediator to assist the negotiations. A mediator is a person who works with both of you; he or she does not take sides. Instead a divorce mediator is knowledgeable about divorce and family law and therefore can assist in acting as a quasi-judge.
Before your divorce is finalized, you can negotiate and complete legal separation papers so there is documentation of your separation. The legal standing of a separation differs from state to state.
Divorce agreements are helpful in getting the terms you and your spouse negotiate written down on paper so everyone is clear to the divorce terms. Again, you do not need an attorney to draft and complete a divorce agreement.
You can also use uncontested divorce forms to help you get the proper paperwork filled out and filed so you and your spouse can complete the divorce.
Doing Your Own Divorce Can Solve All Legal Issues
Regardless of the legal issues involved in your divorce, you can – without a lawyer – create a divorce agreement that encompasses child visitation, child custody, child support, alimony, property division, and any other legal issues.
Then, once an agreement is executed, all you need to do is fill out the no-fault divorce forms and wait for your divorce to be processed by the court.
If your divorce situation is not violent and there is not a great deal of money and property involved, seriously consider doing your divorce without a lawyer. You will save thousands in legal fees, and in many cases when lawyers get involved it can get extremely emotionally charged. Moreover, the last place you want to finalize your relationship is in a trial.
If you do your divorce without an attorney, you’ll avoid the courtroom showdown. It will spare you, your spouse, and your children the very difficult and often public event of a courtroom divorce battle.