Avoiding Lawyers In Your Divorce Case Is Penny Wise And Pound Foolish

Almost everyone who gets a divorce spends some time Googling before they file the divorce petition.  Usually, they want to know how expensive it is to get divorced or how long the process will take before they are legally single again.  No matter what search query you enter, Google will think of something you must want to buy, and it will advertise it to you, so unhappily married folks who consult Google about the logistics of divorce find plenty of online services and downloadable forms and fillable PDFs that promise you a cheap and painless divorce.  You might be tempted to try to get a do-it-yourself divorce, especially if you have heard scary stories about it being expensive to hire a lawyer, but this is one instance where you do yourself a disservice by trying too hard to be frugal, and if your spouse hires a lawyer but you don’t, you will truly be at a disadvantage.  A Tampa divorce lawyer can give you straight answers about how much your divorce will cost.

Are You a Good Candidate for Do-It-Yourself Divorce?

From a legal standpoint, some marriages are simpler to get out of than others.  If you do not have complex financial entanglements with your spouse and you are honest with the court about your assets and debts, then you may be able to accomplish your divorce without hiring a lawyer.  If the following characteristics apply to your marriage, then do-it-yourself divorce might be right for you:

• You and your spouse were only married a short time
• You do not have minor children
• You do not own real estate property or any other highly valuable property together
• You and your spouse are both employed or both retired

In other words, parental rights and responsibilities, valuable assets, and the financial dependence of one spouse on the other are the hardest things to disentangle.  If you and your spouse do not have those entanglements, then your divorce might simply be a matter of paperwork.

Lawyers Can Make Your Divorce More Amicable Instead of More Acrimonious

Some couples avoid lawyers because they do not want to introduce unnecessary conflict into their divorce.  They might try to agree between themselves on how to divide their property.  While couples who are naturally good candidates for do-it-yourself divorce might be able to do this without running into major obstacles, it is a lot more challenging than it sounds.  If holidays with your in-laws stressed you out even in the best of times during your marriage, do you really want to look your ex in the eye and tell him that the real reason you only want your kids to spend Christmas with him every other year instead of every year is that you can’t stand the thought of your ex’s mother telling your children that their stepmother is prettier than you?  Going from being a couple to being co-parents is emotionally fraught, no matter how good your intentions are, and sometimes it is easier to communicate through your lawyers.

Contact Our Tampa Divorce Lawyers at Bubley & Bubley

A family law attorney can help you get a relatively painless divorce.  Contact Bubley & Bubley in Tampa, Florida to discuss your case.