Anyone file for divorce without a lawyer? Is it possible?

[Eaglevoice]

I've just printed the forms I need to file for divorce off of the Superior court webpage. DH and I don't have much that we need to split...we each have our own car, we only created about $1400 in debt together, no house, no other big possessions. I think child custody is pretty straight forward...I moved out of the house with the girls last April and we live 6 hours away from DH. So, is it possible to get this divorce done without the help of a lawyer? I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to business and law stuff, unfortunately. Any advice? I don't have a job right now, I am a full time student, my children and I live with my parents rent free. My DH sends us $400 a month to cover the cost of gas and food, but that's pretty much it. He isn't going to go and file for divorce himself because he is just too lazy to do it, so it's pretty much on me. I don't have any money to afford a lawyer, and I don't really know anyone who is a lawyer or who has gone through this process recently. Any help or advice I can get from you mamas about how to go about filing for divorce whether it be with or without a lawyer???

[song_of_the_soule]

My first marriage ended in divorce due to his infidelity. I filed by myself, but not on the grounds of adultry, that would have taken longer. I live in canada so i am not sure of the laws where you are. What i did was i got the forms, as you did, i filled them out and got direction from the clerks at the superior court. If you figure out custody, child support and debt before hand, it i will be easy and cheap. You will have to have the custody agreement legal and a copy of it included with your divorce application. YOu must go to family court to have that done (which is typically free and duty counsel can represent you-that is a free court appointed lawyer.) It will be very straight forward if he agrees to everything. I believe you can even go through family court proceedings via teleconference if he cannot make it there. I would check on that. Basically, i was intimidated at first myself, but the clerks made it so much easier for me. The whole thing cost about $350 and we split the cost.Good luck!

[Satori]

Yes you can do it yourself, there are actually a lot of books on "Do it yourself Divorce" google that exact term with your state name and you will get lots of info.

[Freedom~Mama]

It def. is possible. I just went to a do it yourself place and all you have to do is give them the information you want on the divorce papers and they print them up for you. It cost me about $250. Then you just take all the paperwork to the courthouse and sign it and get it notarized (and have your STBX sign it) and then they file it (here there is a filing fee of $129) and then if you have kids you are assigned a date to take a focus on the kids class and then after that the divorce is complete. The whole process if it goes smoothly could as little as a few months.

Good luck to you!!

[La Sombra]

I am doing it alone...KIND of, not really. I have a friend who just happens to be a divorce attorney (!) and his help has been invaluable, although he is not officially legally representing me. But I do know people do it, as PPs have noted!

I just wanted to say one little thing. Beautiful~Life said it could take as little as a few months and I just wanted to amend that to say depending on where you live, there could be a mandatory waiting period. I'm in Michigan and here the best case, quickest possible scenario for a divorce with children is a mandatory waiting period of six months.

Good luck to you, I think if you're in a position where you don't really need/can't afford lawyers that it can be quite empowering to do it all yourself!

[floss&ferd]

It depends on the state, and in Indiana, it depends on the county. Some counties require an attorney/mediator. If both parties can agree, they can use one paid professional and split the cost.

[ArtsyMomma]

Have you looked into Legal Aid? I plan on filing after this LO is born and since my ex and I agree on everything it will be an easy straight forward divorce and Legal Aid is willing to help out. I just have to establish paternity before Legal Aid can help.

[Eaglevoice]

In just looked up the info on Legal Aid in my area...thank you for that!!

[ArtsyMomma]

No problem! Good Luck!

[ProtoLawyer]

It's doable, assuming your local court system allows it. I did my own divorce before I went to law school (no kids, no dispute over property division, as $ was 50/50 and all of the stuff had a logical home). As long as you're willing to live with any "mistakes" (which may or may not be actual mistakes--could be a biased judge; could be reactive devaluation--"I got everything I asked for, maybe I should have asked for more"; etc.) it's fine.

With kids, I'd recommend it only if you both agree on custody/support. Otherwise, it's hard to separate yourself emotionally from the process (it's easier--though not necessarily easy--when it's just money you're arguing over rather than your children), which you need to do to be an effective advocate for your position.

Your court may have a pro se (doing it yourself) clinic, which is staffed by volunteer attorneys or law students; your school may also offer a legal office for students. You may want to ask around there.

Best of luck to you.

[Labbemama]

I had a lawyer representing me but then he quit due to my failure to pay due to not getting child support. Because I had a lawyer at one pt. legal aid would not take my case.

I highly recommend calling legal aid since you have limited resources and there are kids to see what they can do to help. At a minimum they sent me the packet and gave me some advice.

So I'm in the middle of my divorce needing to file the final paperwork without a lawyer but I'm thinking if legal aid in the new state won't help me, I'll get a paralegal to help. The judge actually directed me to a website but with abuse in our case I am scared to death stbx could get some kind of visitation and I feel I must have legal representation to protect my kids.

My ex is like yours though and he won't file it unless he knocks his new gf up and he needs to get her on his ins. LOL. I'm in no burning hurry to file as I need time to get the kids settled down.

My ex even refuses to come to court anymore.

I have no idea how to do this "pro se" and I think in my case only a fool would attempt it.

But if you are comfortable with some visitation and splitting up assets then I see no reason why not.