DIY Divorce Law Issues

Are you planning a DIY divorce? Are you completely familiar with divorce law in your state? If the answer to the second question is a resounding "Yes," then you might qualify to say "Yes" to the first question too. But if you think handling your divorce without an attorney is merely a matter of getting the right forms and filling in the blanks, you may need to think twice. There is a reason why attorneys specialize in these sorts of cases, and that is that laws dealing with divorce can be complex. The issues surrounding DIY divorce law may cause big problems for you if you run into something you're not expecting.

Some problems you encounter may have less to do with the law of divorce than with simple errors, yet the court may not make that distinction, or make allowances for your amateur status. Most courts are required to treat you the same way they'd treat a qualified attorney, and assume you know the same law they do. Then what happens if you fill in the wrong blank in your divorce documents, or aren't aware of all documents you're required to file and therefore miss a filing, or if you don't deal with the divorce and custody issues in a way that sets the judge's mind at ease? You could end up with a detrimental judgment, or the judge may insist you get an attorney after all.

You might think the divorce law that covers things like the division of property is fairly straightforward. For many of your assets, that may be the case. But something like retirement plans can get very complicated indeed. For example, some defined benefit plans are not divisible, so a financial advisor would have to determine the value of the benefits, to factor into your property distribution. And divisible plans need a special order, a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, to divide them. This gets so complicated that in fact you do need a lawyer to do it. So you may not be able to avoid a divorce lawyer after all.

Divorce law in all states does allow you to handle the divorce by yourself if that's what you really want to do. But the law may still not be your friend if the divorce papers and other matters aren't handled as though you were a professional attorney. You will need to do a lot of research into DIY divorce law before you start, and you really have to be sure you're ready for all the consequences if you do go it alone.

Related topics about DIY Divorce Law
Filing For Divorce Without A Lawyer
If you're going to file divorce forms that you downloaded from a website, then you must be certain they are the correct forms, and if there have been changes to the law, then they have been updated to reflect these changes. It may be hard to contact the website owners, so perhaps you'd be wiser to check your county court website instead, in case they have posted papers divorce seekers can use. Those are almost guaranteed to be completely up to date.

DIY Online Divorce Help
If you're fretting about the high costs of legal representation when filing for divorce, have you considered the idea of representing yourself during the proceedings? You may think you're completely unqualified, but you might benefit from taking a look at some of the DIY online divorce help that's available. Whether you're looking for free forms, or those you pay for and receive a little help filling out, there are options for doing the divorce yourself, and not paying an arm and a leg to do so.

Divorce Legalities And Self-Service Pitfalls
Downloaded forms may make everything seem straightforward, but divorce and property divisions can be volatile. A judge may raise questions if he or she feels either party has been disadvantaged in the negotiations, especially if there's a suspicion that one of the partners has hidden assets or debts somewhere. Divorce legalities may also require close scrutiny of power differentials in the relationship, especially if the couple has experienced domestic violence in the past.