Step 4: DIY or hire an attorney?
DIY divorce Papers (Slower & Least Costly)
If you plan to go in for the “pro se” representation i.e. “appearing for oneself” without a lawyer, then you must be aware that although you are not a lawyer the court expects you to follow the same rules and regulations that lawyers must follow.
Also, the court won’t let you skip any of the procedures because you didn’t know when or how to follow certain procedure. a DIY divorce can be quite confusing and take a lot of time for you to figure out things on your own.
However, the court will give you all the general information required to guide you through the divorce process. Also, if you have any doubts, you can always check with the court staff; however, you must remember that the court staff cannot offer legal advice and tell you how you can protect your interests and what you must do.
Online Divorce Services (Fastest & Inexpensive)
If you are not very sure of how to go about completing the documents to file for divorce, but at the same time, you don’t want to hire a lawyer, then you can consider the option of using an online divorce service.
They’ll present you with questions regarding your divorce and when you are done, you have your divorce forms complete and ready to file. You can read our review of our top pick, 3stepdivorce.com, and how they can cut your time down to hours, if your divorce is uncontested.
You can take a print out of the forms when you complete them and file them with the clerk at the local county courthouse with the filing fee.
Attorney Divorce Trial (Longer & Expensive)
If an appearance has been filed by your spouse and you are unable to agree on all the terms of your divorce, then a divorce trial will be scheduled. a judge will hear your case and make decisions regarding the various issues such as alimony, child custody, child support and visitation, property division, etc.
However, even if the trial has started and your spouse and you are able to resolve any of the issues, then the court encourages you to do this and then report the agreements you have arrived at to the court.
If you and your spouse are just hung up on one issue that you both can’t seem to come to a resolution on, hiring a mediator may be a better option to help save costs and time. a mediator will help to make sure that both sides are heard fairly and move the disagreement to a resolution that’s best for both parties. Allowing the court to decide what is fair could back fire and leave you both in a worse situation.