Do-It-Yourself Divorce: Is It a Viable Option for You?

By April M. Ardito

Divorce is almost always associated with emotional turmoil, but not everybody realizes the financial strain that divorce can put on all parties involved. A lawyer-assisted divorce often costs upwards of a thousand dollars just in legal fees and court costs. This is one of the few divorce-associated expenses that can potentially be avoided.

A do-it-yourself divorce is something you may want to consider if you have no children and you are both in agreement about the distribution of assets. In many states, do-it-yourself divorce is legal, fairly simple even without specialized knowledge of divorce law, and far less expensive from start to finish than a more traditional lawyer-assisted divorce.

Do-it-yourself divorce is not an option if there are minor children involved, as custody arrangements must be made through the courts system. If either spouse is contesting the divorce action, then it will also be necessary to settle the action in a court. Finally, if there is extensive community property, community debt, or a bankruptcy on file, a do-it-yourself divorce will not be an option for you.

In order to proceed with a do-it-yourself divorce, you will need to acquire state specific divorce forms, either from your local courthouse or online. It is very important that you get all of the required documents, and if you choose to download them from an Internet site, print the documents exactly as you are instructed to.

You should also be aware that some jurisdictions are more open to the idea of do-it-yourself divorce than others. If your local jurisdiction seems unfriendly towards the do-it-yourself divorce process, you may want to consider completing the paperwork on your own but hiring lawyers for the hearing itself. This should still result in a substantial cost savings over hiring lawyers to handle all aspects of the divorce action.

One final consideration to take into account when considering a do-it-yourself divorce is time. If, for whatever reason, it is important for your divorce to be finalized as quickly as possible, it would likely be in your best interest to pursue a lawyer-assisted divorce. Although a do-it-yourself divorce will provide a substantial cost-savings to all parties involved, they do have a greater margin for error and can therefore seem to drag on if any paperwork needs to be re-filed at any point in the process.

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