It is an unfortunate fact in today’s society that about half of marriages end in divorce, and lawyers make a great deal of money from marital discord and discontentment. However, many divorces can be handled amicably by the two people involved, without having to bring in expensive lawyers whose main goal is to make as much money as they can from the divorcing couple. There are many good reasons to have a “do it yourself” divorce, and they range from cost, to actually reducing the discord that often occurs with divorces.
Of course, the greatest advantage of handling your divorce yourself is the cost. Many lawyers start you off in a divorce with a retainer fee of at least $2500 which is usually eaten up, causing you to owe even more by the first court date, sometimes as much as $10,000, and that’s if your divorce is going well. On the other hand, it costs about $250 to file your own divorce, meaning that you are getting a huge savings, which is money that can better go for your children if you have them, or can be split between you and your ex-spouse, giving you both a better start after the divorce. After all, that money can go toward settling any marital debts, taking care of the children, or even getting a new home or apartment for one or both of you. All of these things are much more important than lining the pockets of a lawyer or two.
As much as many people would like to believe that a lawyer will help the divorce case to go faster, unfortunately, it is in their best interest to drag things out so that they can make more money. As a result, they have a way of making you feel you are entitled to everything, and if you go for that bait, it’s going to make the divorce take more time as you attempt to settle everything. Of course, if your spouse has a lawyer who is telling them the same thing, that they are entitled to everything, this makes for a huge battle in court. As a result, the battle keeps going until one person finally decides it’s not worth the fight and gives in. Of course, the person who gives in isn’t always the person who should, but someone has to stop the fight.
Now there are cases where you cannot do it without a lawyer, and you should hire one. These are cases where there has been abuse, as abusers are masters of deception, and are especially hard to deal with in court. This includes, but is not limited to emotional abuse. There are also cases where there is a great deal of money or property involved, and lawyers may be necessary to help you with all the ins and outs of making sure the property gets into the right names, etc. However, for your average, run of the mill divorce, there is no real reason to get lawyers involved, and it may be better for both of you if you don’t.