DIY Divorce and other Disasters

In the blog post “Do-it-yourself online Divorce kits–Buyer Beware,” Texas attorney Shannon Cavers discusses her experience dealing with the so called do it yourself divorce kits that are sold online.  She accurately argues, “ If you received a medical diagnosis requiring surgical intervention, you would not opt to operate on yourself. The same holds true in law.”

Further, in the blog post “Caveat Emptor-Buyer Beware of do it yourself divorce kits” New Hampshire attorney Kysa Crusco echos attorney Cavers’ sentiment.

My $.02 is this:  you get what you pay for.  I will go even further and argue against paralegals who offer to assist you with these forms for a meager fee. 

My reasons are these:

Every legal case is different.  No two cases are the same.  No form, no matter where you downloaded it is one size fits all.  If you are not well versed in family law (or other legal areas for that matter), if you do not know what questions to ask, how can you know you forever waived certain rights by not asking those questions?

There is a reason every state bar highly regulates the practice of law:  to protect consumers and ensure consumers receive adequate representation.  Attorneys receive years of training to ply their trade; must complete continuing legal education hours every year; must answer to the bar for ethical violations; are liable for any malpractice they commit; and are bound by a legal duty to protect their client’s best interest.  Can you say that about a downloaded form or paralegal who is acting as an attorney?

When it comes to the custody of your children, the distribution of your assets, determining amounts of child support, determining visitation schedules, alimony, etc., are you willing to risk maintaining the rights you have by downloading a form off the internet or seeking services of an attorney who can guide you through the steps of the process?  Which cost is higher?

I will further echo previous comments by my colleagues above attorneys can be expensive, but there are ways to gain their services at a lower rate:  

1) speak with an attorney and see if they will unbundle their services (if they will look over documents, provide advice or guidance, or allow you to do some of the legwork involved);

2) check with your local clerk of courts office to see what forms or assistance they can provide (Nassau County Clerk or Duval County Clerk);  

3) see if your geographical area has a local legal aid office (Jacksonville Area Legal Aid or Three Rivers Legal Services); 

4) almost every state has a Lawyer Referral Service who can refer you to an attorney, usually at a discounted rate (Jacksonville Bar Lawyer Referral Service); or

5) contact the legal clinic at the local law school (Florida Coastal School of Law).