Some unhappily married people complain that they cannot afford to divorce their spouses. Likewise, some fathers hesitate to establish legal paternity for their child born out of wedlock, fearing the legal process is too expensive. Family law attorneys often charge a lot of money for services involving the family courts. In order to save costs, people are now asking themselves, “should I represent myself in family court?” The answer is often “yes,” but you also need to consider your circumstances.
Fortunately, many people can successfully represent themselves in many routine family court proceedings. These court processes include the dissolution of marriage, the establishment of paternity, and enforcing and modifying child support orders. With the expansion of non-attorney help, nowadays people in every tax bracket can now afford professional help with common family law matters. These changes allow people to represent themselves in a variety of family court situations such as divorce, legal separation, and even child custody and child support cases. If hiring a lawyer is beyond your budget, but preparing a divorce petition or motion for child support by yourself sounds too risky, a good solution is to represent yourself in family court and have a registered legal document assistant prepare the documents for your case.
Representing Yourself in Family Court in a Divorce
Spouses that participate in drawn-out court battles are the exception rather than the rule. Today most people just want to get out of their unhappy marriage quickly, and with as few financial losses as possible. It’s even possible for people to complete their entire divorce process through online services without ever going to court. There are many situations where representing yourself in family court is a great, low-cost option. For example, it does not make sense to hire a divorce lawyer when you have these situations:
Uncontested Divorce – It is quite easy to represent yourself in family court if you have an uncontested divorce. In this situation, the parties may have initially disagreed. Typically circumstances change, and both spouses have a change of heart and decide settlement is better than a trial. The couple hires a legal document assistant to prepare an agreement that addresses all the issues of their marriage. They sign the Marital agreement and submit it with Judgment documents. The Judge reviews the agreement and approves it. This process avoids a divorce trial, and parties can complete the divorce process without further court hearings since both spouses agree.
Default Divorce – It is quite common for people to represent themselves in family court for a default divorce. A default divorce is similar to an uncontested divorce, however, there is a difference. In a true default divorce, the other party does not file a response to the Petition. This can be because 1) your spouse is uncooperative or 2) cannot be found. There is a third scenario; however, that is how most default divorce cases proceed. In many default divorce cases, the parties may agree with each other, just like with an uncontested divorce. The difference is that the Respondent does not file a Response to the original petition, thus avoids having to pay a second court filing fee (currently $435.) In a default divorce process, a legal document assistant can easily get you through the divorce process. Just like an uncontested divorce, the court will make the parties single again and grants the requests in the divorce petition. Furthermore, similarly to an uncontested divorce, a couple can complete a true default divorce without a court hearing.
Uncomplicated Divorce – If you have an uncomplicated divorce you should definitely consider representing yourself in family court. In an uncomplicated divorce, the couple divorcing has no children or own property together, so there are no difficult issues for the court to decide. This is common with a short term marriage. Since there are no issues for the court to decide, the matter proceeds as a default divorce described above.
In all the above situations, the common component is not having conflict. Since there is no conflict, it is quite easy to represent yourself in family court. Without conflict between the parties, there is nothing to lose. Consequently, hiring a lawyer will not give either party a more favorable outcome than not hiring one. The divorce process just needs to be completed. The parties need to properly complete the paperwork to get their divorce Judgment. In California, family law documents can easily be prepared with the help of a legal document assistant. This makes it possible to easily represent yourself in family court.
When You Need to Act Quickly
Sometimes emergencies come in up family law matters. For example, you may need an emergency custody order or a restraining order. Although these situations may seem scary, you may be surprised that a legal document assistant can easily help you with these matters. Hiring a lawyer in a family law emergency situation can often waste valuable time, not to mention money. A legal document assistant is often more prepared to provide clients with a quick turn around for the preparation and filing of the required documents. If you need temporary, emergency child custody or support orders. or a restraining order, you really don’t need to hire a lawyer.
Affordable Family Law Documents Prepared Professionally
Representing yourself in your family law case is the wisest choice in many common situations. Contact A People’s Choice so we can help you with the necessary forms for your divorce, child support, paternity, or child custody case. Get your documents prepared by a professional legal document assistant and save thousands of dollars as compared to an attorney. Call today at 800-757-2780.
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