Vivian Rodriguez is a family trial attorney and Florida Supreme Court-certified family mediator offering dispute resolution services in Florida.
With the current economic climate, more and more couples are interested in doing their own divorce using the state forms. But, regardless of your financial ability, the forms are always a great alternative to consider when it comes to getting your divorce done without spending financial resources on attorneys. If you’re willing to spend the time, you can use these forms. These forms will not help you unless you and your spouse have agreed on all the details of your divorce (who gets what marital property, who pays for what marital debt, etc.).
You can access your state’s forms through this national website, National Center for State Courts. Currently, only two states, Connecticut and Alabama, are not listed on the site as provide divorce forms. If you live in either of these two states, you can search online for links directly to their websites.
Now, for the 3-step process:
1. Find your state’s forms and self-help centers, using the link above. All of these sites give you information on how to determine which forms are the right ones for you and provide you instructions on completing the forms.
2. Download and complete the forms. This step requires you to actually read and complete the forms, so you (and your spouse) should probably set aside some time to do this. The forms themselves will take you about an hour or so to complete, assuming you and your spouse have already discussed the details of how you want to end your marriage. If you haven’t had that discussion, you may want to wait until you have ironed out the details; otherwise, you will not be able to complete the forms and may even become discouraged.
3. File the forms with the Court. The instructions will tell you how to file the forms in court to open your case. These instructions include: how many copies of the completed forms you will need, where to file, how much to pay, and what to do to get your case before the judge for him or her to grant a divorce decree of final judgment.
As all of these sites will tell you, the staff at the help centers cannot provide you with legal advice in completing the forms. You can get legal advice from lawyers in your area who practice family or marital law.
To find out about the divorce process for self-represented parties, you may want to register for this free seminar.
© Vivian Rodriguez
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