Most people assume that divorce is a formulaic process. You get married, you decide to file for divorce, you hire attorneys, and the divorce is hashed out in court between two lawyers yelling at one another. But there are alternative divorce methods. This post will go over the pros and cons of DIY divorce and whether it is right for you.
DIY divorce is a viable alternative for a narrow slice of marriages. DIY divorce means that you prepare your paperwork, submit it to the correct court, manage your property division, and arrange your child custody and support matters. As you probably noticed, DIY divorce isn’t ideal for couples who have been married a long time or have children.
These are complex issues, and if you fail to address them properly, the court could strike the entire proceeding and force you to start over. Moreover, if you don’t manage your income declarations properly, you could be stuck paying too little or too much in support, which could impact your financial stability for years.
If you or a friend is considering divorce, then you may want to contact a lawyer to discuss your options. As you can see, you don’t necessarily need a lawyer to get divorced but it is important that you understand the implications of divorce before you go through with it. Many couples submit their divorce agreement to an attorney to review before filing it, to ensure that the important issues are addressed (but this is an imperfect solution because the lawyer does not get to know your issues as she would if she worked it from beginning to end). A lawyer can help, you don’t need to figure it out alone.
