In family law circles, the old joke that it's cheaper to keep your spouse than to divorce him or her still makes the rounds. It applies as much to the amount you will spend in lawyer's fees for a divorce as to how much of "your" assets will be shared with your soon-to-be "Ex." Although most divorces will not be like The Donald and Ivana Trump divorce, the reality is that even a "simple" divorce can cost you quite a penny unless you're willing to put some effort and use resources which courts have in place to help those who want to represent themselves--known as pro se parties.
Just about every state has forms available to help you get your divorce without having to hire a lawyer. Florida is no exception, and the Florida Supreme Court has provided forms for use in family cases, including divorce. They have tried to be as straight forward as possible without using "legalese." Still, many people find them cumbersome and extremely time-consuming.
Although the forms can be downloaded for free from the Florida Supremet Court website, many Florida courts charge for these forms, sometimes as much as $50.00--not exactly an exorbitant fee were it not for the fee paid to the same court for filing a divorce in Florida, currently $364.00; and you still have to pay the sheriff's fee for serving the spouse!. To make matters worse, some internet sites offer the same exact forms for around $7.00.
The end result is that the very people who are meant to be helped by the forms are usually driven to hire a lawyer, if only to save themselves time and aggravation in completing the forms.
The fact of the matter is that lawyers often use these same forms. What's more, you're probably paying a lawyer an hourly rate of anywhere from $150.00 and up, for filling out forms--although the forms will look different because they have been retyped into a word processor--and going with you to the final hearing on your case. Even if you pay a lawyer a set fee of, say $750.00, you are paying for filling out forms that will take but perhaps a total of three hours of work, most of it done through a secretary; and for holding your hand in court (trust me, you're very safe in court).
All the things you would hire a lawyer for to assist you in your divorce case can be done by you, even the mediation part. Mediation is an alternative to a trial, and whether you have a lawyer or not, you will be required to go to mediation prior to a trial if you and your spouse do not agree on any issue. Florida courts have mediation units for use by all parties, represented or not.
So if you're tempted to throw in the towel and hire a lawyer to fight for you in court, remember your spouse will do likewise. And each attorney is being paid from one cookie jar, regardless of whether you think of the cookie jar as yours, your spouse's or belonging to both.
(c) 2007 Vivian Rodriguez. All Rights Reserved.
Vivian Rodriguez has been a practicing attorney in Florida for over 18 years, and is also a Florida Supreme Court-certified family law mediator.
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