The Legal Process for Divorce

 
The legal process does not need to be overwhelming.  In fact, if you and your spouse can figure out your plan for the kids, the money, and the stuff, then it’s simply a matter of filling out some paperwork.  The legal process only becomes complicated when spouses rely too much on lawyers or when the spouses use the law to fight with each other.  If you and your spouse disagree, even if you strongly disagree, first turn to a transformative mediator to help you have a good conversation.  Or if you’ve already been litigating for years (I’ve worked with many couples who have spent more than $500,000 on lawyers), now might be the time to regain control and let me help you work things out together.
If you and your spouse figure out your plan, either on your own, or with my help, judges are usually delighted that they don’t need to get involved in figuring things out.  They know that usually both spouses are unhappy with judges’ decisions and often the conflict continues for years.  So judges prefer if you work out your own plan.
Once you’ve figured out your plan, you can do your own legal paperwork here, or you can hire a paralegal service for around $500, or if you believe legal advice will be helpful, you can hire a lawyer for the simple purpose of completing the documentation (which is far less expensive than it is to simply hire a lawyer to “handle” your divorce).