File for Divorce in Florida pro se
Filing for divorce is commonly depicted as a long legal issue with lawyers for both sides battling in the courts. Nonetheless, divorces can be carried out without hiring attorneys as long as both parties are able in agreement or there is no assets to split.
Get StartedThe clerk s office cannot provide legal advice but may provide additional forms, terms and the clerk may notarize the documents for an additional fee.
Before you file for a regular dissolution of marriage make sure your marriage is irretrievable broken. There are two types of properties and financial obligations for a divorce in Florida— nonmarital and marital. Typically, any type of asset or financial debt acquired during the marital relationship is taken into consideration marital and based on distribution. The parties also may have properties or financial debts that are taken into consideration nonmarital as well as need to be awarded to just one party. If there is no way to fix your relationship your marriage is irretrievably broken.
How to file for Divorce in Florida without an Attorney
Hiring a divorce lawyer is always an option and should be considered seriously. In this article we are not recommending you not to hire an attorney but we want you to know that you have options if you are filing for divorce in Florida.
Hiring an attorney has many benefits which we are going through some of them below.
Why File for Divorce By Yourself
Many people do not know that a divorce is 99% paper. Even if the case goes to trial the amount of time spent on paperwork is much larger than the time doing anything else related.
In most attorney offices a paralegal takes care of the paperwork. While in Florida paralegals can’t work by themselves (and if they do they can’t tell you they are paralegals), it is legal for non-attorneys to assist you with your divorce process.
What is a non-attorney
A non-attorney AKA document preparer does not need any licenses or certificates in the State of Florida to offer their services however there are requirements they need to follow. One of the most important rules is that they do not provide legal advice. That will violate the Unauthorized Practice of Law rules and can get the document preparer in a lot of trouble with the BAR association.
Divorce QuoteAnother rule is that they add their name, company name, address and phone number to the bottom of every Florida issued document they complete.
More online divorce preparation companies are popping up from out of State which are not familiar with these rules but it’s up to the consumer to understand the difference.
How to file for divorce by yourself
Like we said above, a divorce in Florida is 99% documents. You can literally walk inside your local courthouse and purchase a packet of forms and go at it.
PRO’s – You will save a lot of money
CON’s – You will get a packet of forms where most likely you won’t need 40% of the forms however you won’t know which ones you need. Most likely you will feel overwhelmed and put the forms on top of your dining table for a long time because you won’t know how to fill them out. Also, if you are low income most likely the court did not give you the form to get the court filing fee waived!
Filing for Divorce with a Document Preparer
This is an excellent option available in Florida that will save you money but will lower the sense of overwhelm if you hire the right non-attorney for you.
PRO’s – Save TIME and MONEY. Working with a professional based in Florida should help you feel less anxious and should let the case move smoothly.
CON’s – Cannot provide legal advice.
Hiring an Attorney to File Your Divorce
There is no doubt that hiring a divorce lawyer is a great investment, especially if you have issues with asssets and parental responsibilities with children.
PRO’s – An attorney represents their clients in court and provides expert guidance which may be pivotal to getting what you deserve out of the divorce and children custody, visitation, child support and alimony.
CON’s – You may find their fees to be on the expensive side.
In Summary
This page explains the options available if you want to file for divorce in Florida. Do not let high attorney fees to discourage you from moving forwards or the overwhelm of purchasing a divorce packet from the courthouse. Contact a few companies and follow your intuition when it comes to making a decision.
Self-help Divorce – Florida Courts – An Overview
Considering that lawyers bill you hourly, they’re going to keep going and going because it’s not in their monetary interest to settle. The longer they fight, the more you pay. Attorneys are often overextended, juggling lots of cases at the very same time. You might not be a priority and your divorce procedures may drag out longer than needed.
When dealing with household law attorneys, Florida couples will not only be at the grace of their availability however need to you go to trial, the court calendar, too. So you could be awaiting months to get a court date, even if you and your attorneys are prepared. As soon as again, dragging the procedure our for a lot longer than is essential.
Rather of choosing one that’s been raised upon you by your legal representatives or a family law judge. In other words, you’ll remain in complete control of your settlement agreement. Great divorce document preparers (also known as non-attorneys) will provide you a flat-fee service so you’ll understand up front what services are consisted of and exactly what your divorce will cost.
Document Preparation Services
High quality non-attorneys restrict the number of couples they handle at the same time so you are a top priority. They recognize that moving you through the procedure effectively, but at a speed you’re comfy with is important to both your settlement result, and overall wellness. Because document preparers work mostly online you don’t have to wait to make an appointment to get the process started.
The spouse desiring to end the marital relationship will more than likely have no option however to hire the document preparer who will take care of the typing of the documents, file with the courts, serve the other partner with divorce papers and down the path to getting the marriage dissolved you’ll both go. While it takes just one paper to get married, it takes many documents to apply for a divorce.
It merely ends up being a matter of how you will get divorced and how much money, time and distress you will spend to get it. If you hire a divorce attorney or a document preparer is going to ask each of you to collect a series of financial files and finish a number of jobs. Permitting you to take part in what we frequently describe as a transparent, “good-faith” settlement which includes a financial affidavit.