A common misconception is that a divorce attorney is only needed when there are disagreements between the spouses. But when there is a complete agreement on all divorce issues many couples think a divorce attorney is an unnecessary expense. Instead they get free forms from the court, pay for forms over the Internet, or even hire a paralegal or other non-lawyer to draft the forms for them. Unfortunately going without a lawyer can create a complicated mess that you may not be able to fix. With my years of family law experience I have heard all the stories of “uncontested divorces gone wrong.” I offer a variety of uncontested divorce services on a flat fee basis to help my clients avoid these problems.
Here are 7 reasons why you should consider hiring an attorney for your uncontested divorce:
- There Is No “One Size Fits All” Divorce. Each family is unique and every situation is different. Yet the Internet divorce forms are full of “check the box” options. There is no standard divorce form that can accommodate every agreement. When hiring an attorney for your uncontested divorce you will have documents that are fully customized for your case.
- It Will Get Done. We all have that “perpetual to-do list” – those tasks you want to do, or should do, that never seem to get done. For many people “take care of divorce” ends up on this list. When you hire an attorney for your uncontested divorce taking care of your divorce becomes our job. We make sure that your divorce is completed and we help you take care of those miscellaneous tasks after your divorce (i.e. transferring title to property and accessing retirement funds). Then we go home to ignore our own “perpetual to-do lists.”
- We Know What We Are Doing. We have years of experience handling all kinds of family law cases – uncontested divorces, contested divorces, child custody matters, etc. We deal with the legal documents and the court process on a daily basis. We keep up with new laws and legal developments. This is what we have trained for and what we do for a living.
- You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know. It is one thing to fill out a form. It is quite another thing to be giving yourself legal advice. While we don’t want to undermine any agreements a couple may have reached about their divorce, we do want to make sure our client is entering the divorce agreement with open eyes.
- We Can Make It Happen. Many times couples that have reached their own agreement are able to come up with a creative resolution – something that is different than most other divorces. The Internet forms may be unable to handle a creative resolution and the judge might be hesitant to accept such an agreement. We can incorporate your creative agreements into a divorce decree that a judge will sign off on.
- We (Try To) Predict The Future. Because we know what we are doing (see #3) we also know what people fight about after a divorce. In any uncontested divorce we use this knowledge to try to predict the future and resolve those issues now, before they become problems. Whenever possible we draft your divorce documents to clearly outline the agreement, what your expectations are, and to provide a resolution for potential future problems.
- It Can Save You Money. Really. Yes, hiring an attorney for your uncontested divorce will cost more than getting the free forms from the court. But every month we are contacted by new potential clients who used the free forms and are now having problems. When they hire us, they end up spending more money to fix these problems then they would have had they hired us to handle the divorce in the first place. By hiring an attorney for your uncontested divorce you know it will get done right and that the “clean-up” work will be taken care of. You also know that we have considered your agreement and thought of potential future issues. Hiring an attorney for your uncontested divorce really can save you a lot of money in the future.
If you are facing a divorce, even if you and your spouse have an agreement, I can help you through the process.
