Florida Divorce – Do You Really Need an Attorney?
Regardless of the current economic situation, many couples still want or need to get a divorce, preferably without an attorney-which often leads to them asking themselves whether they really need an attorney.
The simplest answer is that a divorce can be done by the parties without attorneys provided they know the risks involved in doing so.
The danger of not using a divorce attorney in Florida or anywhere else is that you risk giving up rights provided to you under the law. Some of these rights, such as alimony rights in Florida, for example, can never be recovered if you didn’t address it appropriately during your divorce action. (You can solve this problem by consulting an attorney regarding your divorce before you decide to do it on your own.)
Moreover, if you and your spouse are in disagreement or outright fighting over anything, being able to do it without an attorney can be more difficult depending on the result you are looking for, and how much you are willing to compromise.
The Florida Supreme Court provides family forms for divorce in Florida. They can be downloaded from their website for free. For the most part, the forms are kept up to date and can provide a way to do a divorce without attorneys.
Realize that representing yourself in a Florida divorce court throughout your divorce will require some effort on your part, especially with the recent budget cuts imposed by the Florida legislature (in 2008 and 2009) which make it less likely that there are services provided by the clerks..
If, along the way, your divorce becomes more than you think you can handle, look into hiring a lawyer. And don’t wait until the last minute (such as a hearing the next day or a mediation) to do so: you may find that not many attorneys will be willing to take it on last-minute; and those who do may charge a higher fee then they otherwise would to set aside cases they are currently working on to take care of your situation.
© 2009 Vivian Rodriguez
Vivian Rodriguez is a divorce and paternity attorney in Florida. For articles about Florida family law, visit the Articles page at FLDivorcePaternityLawyer.com.
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