When
do you need to hire a family law attorney and when is it okay to just use an online divorce form website to save a little money? This article will provide a few pointers to help you decide whether to do it yourself or retain a divorce lawyer.
What Does it Mean to Use an Online Divorce Form Website?
Essentially, using an online form website in your divorce case means that you will represent yourself and act as your own lawyer. All of the online divorce form sites have disclaimers making it clear that they are not your lawyer and are just preparing documents on your behalf. While it is your constitutional right to act as your own lawyer, there are some significant risks involved that should be evaluated before you take the online route.
Additionally, you have to evaluate the particular website you are dealing with. Most are national sites that offer forms that they claim will work in any state. However, every state has different laws. In other words, a California Divorce Decree will not be identical to a Texas Divorce Decree because the laws of the two states are not identical. So with an online divorce you are basically getting a generic form that may or may not work in your jurisdiction.
What if You Have Children?
While many of the divorce form sites
claim to offer forms that address the necessary provisions regarding children (conservatorship, support, visitation, etc.), it is very risky to use these generic forms when you have children. You must remember that your divorce forms are being prepared using online software that simply fills in the blanks with your answers to very simplistic yes/no or multiple choice questions. These answers may not necessarily fit your situation or you may not fully understand the question.This is where a competent lawyer can make a big difference. A lawyer will learn more about your situation and find out exactly what your documents need to say, instead of just the boilerplate language that the divorce website's software spits out. If you have children, you should take the safe route and hire an experienced divorce lawyer.
What if You Own Property?
Many of the divorce form sites also claim to offer forms that will deal with the most complex of property divisions. But when it comes to dividing any property beyond personal effects (clothes, furniture, etc.), it is risky to rely solely on generic divorce forms. If you or your spouse own real estate, vehicles, 401k accounts or other retirement accounts, or have any other financial assets or liabilities, an online divorce form will not necessarily protect your interests.
A competent divorce lawyer would be able to, first, analyze your situation and determine what property division is in
your best interest, and second, ensure that all the assets awarded to you were properly transferred and the titles correctly recorded on your behalf.
Conclusion
Using an online divorce form always carries a certain amount of risk. If there are no children from the marriage and no property to divide, then saving a few hundred dollars may be worth the risk and the extra work you will have to do. But for most people, especially those with children or property, it is essential to hire an experienced divorce lawyer to handle their case.
About the Author
Scott Morgan has been a Houston divorce lawyer since 1994. His practice focuses exclusivley on divorce and family law cases. You can find out more about Mr. Morgan on his website, http://www.houstondivorce.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
I've learned numerous, important lessons on life, motherhood and men by being the mommy of a little boy...
1) Boys really can and will go to the bathroom anywhere. Some of them seem to really like going outside.
2) When little boys tell you they have to go to the bathroom "RIGHT NOW," they honestly mean it... They either can't hold or refuse to try to hold it like little girls can.
3) Boys can fake cry just as good as girls. My son actually practices his facial expressions in the mirror - like the sad, hopeless look designed to evoke sympathy and the scrunched up, tears are coming, "I'm really hurt" face, or the mean glare with his little cheeks puffed out as he grits his teeth determined not to smile...
4) It's true that boys hit harder than girls even when they're just playing around... I think it's a testosterone thing.
5) Leaving the toilet seat up is a habit males are born with. Most mommies will begin the battle to get them to put it down before they go to kindergarten. And many moms will still be in the battle with their sons when they graduate high school. It's a war we seldom win. My six year-old son rationalizes it like this: "Mommy you should feel lucky that I lift the seat up - Because if I didn't, when you go to the bathroom in the middle of the night and it's really dark, just think how mad you would be if I peed with the seat down..."
6) It doesn't matter whether you're four years-old or 40, if you're a girl who can play kickball as good as the boys, you are COOL.
7) Even though we carried our sons in our wombs for nine months and went through the excruciating pain of childbirth to bring these delightful little boys into the world, threatening these miniature men with the phrase -
"I brought you into this world and I can take you out..."
instills much more fear in them when their fathers (or other prominent male figure in their life) say it.
8) But the fact that WE were the ones who were pregnant and WE were the parent who actually gave birth to these wondrous baby males, does give us their loyalty, partiality and perhaps biased support in disputes with their fathers (or any man).
9) If you are a single mother of a little boy, he will not think you are incapable of doing the things that are traditionally "guy" things - like fishing, going to the races, playing in the mud, tossing baseball or football, working on your car etc...
(Unless you show him that you can't do stuff like that or you choose not to attempt activities conventionally associated with men.)
10) There is nothing in this world comparable to the way it makes a mommy feel to have the unconditional, pure, innocent love of her little boy.
Resource Box - © Danielle Hollister (2004) is the Publisher of BellaOnline Quotations Zine - A free newsletter for quote lovers featuring more than 10,000 quotations in dozens of categories like - love, friendship, children, inspiration, success, wisdom, family, life, and many more. Read it online at - http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art8364.asp
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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