Florida Divorce:  The 1 Thing You Need to Know to Represent Yourself in Divorce Court

Everyone has the right to represent themselves, whether in a civil or criminal case.  But if you do, what is the number one thing you should know to be able to represent yourself in a way that will allow you resolve the pending problems effectively?

The short answer is: when you are representing yourself in a Florida divorce, you need to be as prepared as an attorney would be.

Over the last few months I have represented parties in cases where the other spouse or parent (in paternity cases) was unrepresented.  In at least two of these cases, the sitting judge has informed the party without an attorney that he or she has to be held to the same standard as any attorney appearing before the court.

What this means to the average unrepresented party is basically this: You need to come into court with the appropriate proof (or evidence) to prove your claim.  It isn’t a question of saying this or that; it is a question of providing the court relevant proof that will hold up in court to prove your claim or to defend against claims made by the other party.

Sometimes it is not a question of proving with document, photographs, videos, etc.; but of knowing what has to be proved and the questions to ask when there is no “hard” evidence to prove it.

There are only two consequences possible when a party represents him or herself before the court but fails to prepare.  The worst consequence is that the matter being decided by the court is decided in favor of the other party.  In some instances, there may be no immediate way to resolve this short of an appeal, which is costly and the average unrepresented party cannot afford.

The other possible consequence is a continuation of the hearing where the matter is being heard by the court. This may or may not lead to a successful result, depending on whether the unrepresented party will be adequately prepared for the next hearing.

© 2010 Vivian Rodriguez

Vivian Rodriguez is a divorce and paternity attorney in Florida. For articles about  Florida divorce and paternity, visit  the Articles page at FLDivorcePaternityLawyer.com.

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