Uncontested Divorce

In our opinion, the answer to this question is a resounding yes. Although it may be a bit more expensive up front to use a lawyer in the uncontested divorce process, we’ve found that it saves an incredible amount of time and money in the long run. Here are some examples of the type of problems we see when individuals try to file their own uncontested divorce paperwork:

1. Using Forms Found Online

When we go to docket call each month in Calhoun County, we see countless pro se (representing themselves) divorcing couples being called on by the judge to set their cases for trial. These individuals respond with “we filed our paperwork, we don’t know why we’re here.” The answer from the judge is invariable, “you’re here because you’ve filed your paperwork incorrectly. I can’t give you legal advice on how to fix it. I’m setting your case for trial. You’ll need to talk with an attorney before the date of trial or your case will be dismissed.”

These individuals then have to rush off and hire an attorney at the last minute to try to locate and correct the problems with their paperwork. As you can guess, finding an attorney on short notice to address an emergency isn’t cheap or easy, and causes a lot of stress for the parties. If they are unable to find an attorney in time and their case gets dismissed, they lose their filing fee and have to pay it again when they refile a second time.

2. Missing or misstating crucial information in the decree

Even if there is nothing wrong with the forms filed, we’ve seen a lot of uncontested divorces done poorly when it comes to addressing the important marital issues. Here’s some examples:

• Marital home: we’ve seen individuals try to award the home to one spouse, but forget to include language about preparing a deed within a specific timeframe, or refinancing the mortgage on the home within a set period of time. We’ve had many people come to us years later and say “I had no idea this was still in my name. She hasn’t made the payments and now my credit is ruined.” Or, “he knows the house was awarded to me but he refuses to sign the deed. Now I can’t sell the home.”

• Marital debt: much like the situation with the home, people forget to address a certain credit card or the payment on an ATV, and it ends up ruining their credit. Or, the other party has hidden debt that one person didn’t know about, and they didn’t include the correct language to protect themselves from the surprise creditors.

• Alimony: most laypeople don’t understand the different types of alimony and how that affects things moving forward. Some types of alimony are dischargeable in bankruptcy, while others are not. We’ve seen people who thought they were receiving a fair marital settlement end up with the short end of the stick because the other party ran out and filed bankruptcy, thereby discharging their obligations to make payments to the former spouse.

• Issues involving the children: there are a lot of ticky tacky issues that come up when two people will be raising children together for more than a decade. Things like: who gets to choose what school the child will attend, who makes medical decisions, who gets to choose a counselor for the minor child?