No One Dies from Divorce

Divorce Tips: When You Should or Shouldn’t Hire a Lawyer

September 17, 2021 Jill Coil Season 1
No One Dies from Divorce
Divorce Tips: When You Should or Shouldn’t Hire a Lawyer
Show Notes

Summary: 

Plenty of divorces are amicable, and you don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on legal fees. In this 10-minute tips episode, I map out when you can DIY and when you probably need a lawyer, and how to hire one if so. Either way, I always recommend at least meeting with an attorney once for an initial consultation.


Show notes:


A lot of times when people write their own divorce decrees or try to use an online form or service, it can lead to issues. When you don’t use legalese or understand the state law, oftentimes it makes the decree unenforceable by law.


You should always at least meet with an attorney. This means having an initial consultation with an attorney in your state (even better if in your same county). Then you know you have the most updated and specific information you need. You can do free consultations, but know that the attorney is mostly going to spend that time on a sales pitch to you, whereas paid consultations don’t waste your time and they are just going to give you legal advice specific to you. You don’t have to hire the attorney if you don’t need to. But if you do want to hire an attorney, it’s important to find an attorney you mesh well with. You need to make sure you trust them to represent you.


If the facts of your case are really complicated, you probably want to hire a lawyer. But if you and your spouse have already had plenty of discussions about how to divide things and you are still amicably communicating, and if you haven’t been married long or there aren’t a lot of assets to split, and if you don’t have children, you probably don’t need to hire an attorney beyond having that initial consultation.


It’s much harder to redo divorce decrees later on, so it’s best to take the time to get it done right in the first place. If you are trying to modify it with the court, it will be your burden to show substantial change of circumstance and it’s much harder. You should never settle your divorce just because you’re trying to get it over with or over-negotiating because you don’t have the emotional energy to fight right then. These are decisions that will affect you and your family for years to come