If you’re looking to get a divorce without a lawyer, that means you represent yourself in your divorce case.  Pro Se divorce means that you will have to go through the legal process yourself, including filling out any and all forms necessary for the court process. Before you continue though, you should seriously consider both the local and state laws governing divorce.  You will also need to keep the legal and emotional aspects separate, which can be challenging; if you are unable to do so, you should hire an attorney.

If you’re determined to continue forward with pro se litigation, then you’ll first want to do some research at the state law library and the local county court. Familiarize yourself with the ins and outs of the local divorce process and check whether you qualify for no-fault divorce.  Then you should pick up the necessary forms at the local courthouse or clerk’s office and fill them out (which should be simple if you’ve already determined how the assets will be split).

You and your spouse must sign the form (and have them notarized as required), and then deliver them to the local court clerk.  Make sure you have enough to cover the filing fee which will be due immediately and will vary by court.  You then need to notify the respondent about the divorce. After setting the final divorce hearings, begin the discovery phase.  During this phase, you’ll be gathering information pertaining to the divorce and send a list of questions (interrogatories) to ask the respondent.

Afterwards, you’ll enter a phase called mediation, during which you and the respondent will meet to try to negotiate any outstanding issues, such as distribution of assets and alimony.  However, if all issues cannot be solved in this phase, then both parties will have an opportunity to argue their case in front of a judge in divorce court.  The judge will then evaluate the evidence and distribute the assets accordingly.

Once again, since divorce is a complex and highly complicated legal process, it is much easier to hire an attorney.  You can always use TalkLocal to instantly find a high rated local attorney to represent you.

This entry was originally posted on Thursday, July 19th, 2012 at 6:00 am and is filed under Lawyers - Family. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.