Is it safe and worthwhile to do a DIY divorce without attorney?
Why Not Hiring An Experienced Divorce Attorney If You Do Agree On All Aspects Of Your Divorce
Today many people want to try out things on their own, and
this DIY works in many aspect of life. However when it comes to divorce
situation it is really complicated and sometimes it can lead to
unexpected results due to lack of professional knowledge on specific
rules and regulations that each state requires in their family law
statement.
The main two reasons that most couples don’t hire divorce attorney are
cost and total time it takes. Typically hiring a divorce lawyer will
cost minimum $200 per hour, and this can easily pile up to $5,000 or
more in total. Getting a divorce without an attorney can only cost
about $300 and some court filing fees. Also the length of divorce
process will take much longer when working with lawyer, rather than
filing yourself with the help of online divorce forms and other good
resources.
When couples are starting to work together and come up with an agreement of their own, they often have a decision that looks pretty fair to both parties. After this initial consideration is complete, they tend to simply move forward with the final decision. In many cases, the couples are vulnerable to make mistakes because they did not fully understand their options or the state's family law, including the difference of separation vs divorce in legal terms.
What If A Mistake Is Made
In case of divorce, the decision is final when the property settlement document is signed and submitted to the court. Even the court cannot modify it until a new change request is filed by both parties which will make matters worse. But due to the sensitively emotional factor in the divorce situation, no party wants to take a deep contemplation before they make a decision and put their signature on it. Sometimes they don’t even look at the divorce settlement agreement and just sign it.
Once approved by the court, divorce settlement agreements are subject to all the rules and statements that will govern the contract ultimately. So it is necessary for both parties to be fully informed of what the available options are, prior to enter into this final decision. In case only one party is favored by this settlement, it is still valid because the decision was made in mutual agreement and clearly stated in the document. It outlines the terms of divorce when it really happens and what the requirements are on both parties.
When You Discover Mistakes
While going through this tough settlement process, there are times when couples make mistakes when making a decision. Especially those related to financial terms, you will need to pay an extra care to protect yourself out of unnecessary burden due to your spouse’s previous debt which was put in jointly responsible. If you don’t clear this matter before the final divorce, you might get a negative impact on your credit score after the settlement is done. Other example is related to child custody and their college support responsibility. Addressing this issue while divorce process is going on would be better than taking a burden later. There is a way to do a partial settlement with both parties’ mutual agreement, but always give extra caution when signing on the final document as court cannot amend without another session of hearing and negotiation while both parties are involved.
As you can see, it is not an easy task to file a divorce on your own without an attorney. If you hire an attorney, they will take care of all the steps needed to move forward the process. If you think it is worthwhile to pay your money, then you are sure to be protected. Or you can at least get a consultation without having him represent you at the court. On top of that, most people are not deeply knowledgeable with up to date family law and regulations in their local state. Sometimes it is wise to let the professional do the job on behalf of you, so that you can rest assured in the long term.
For other legal matters, there are www.legalforms.name for download and you can save them to your laptop as a PDF format for free. Among those forms, Divorce Forms are available for those who want to prepare legal separation process.