Getting a Do-It-Yourself Divorce

It is entirely possible to get a divorce without a lawyer.The key is agreeing to all the terms of divorce with your spouse. If this is not possible, then getting a do-it-yourself divorce is not possible. The reason for this is you will then have to take your matter to a Court. You can represent yourself in Court, but this is not an optimal approach to litigating.Getting a divorce on your own simply requires: completing the necessary paperwork,

filing that paperwork with the appropriate court,

serving filed paperwork on your spouse.After service, there is typically a waiting period until your divorce judgment will be issued. If it's a contested divorce, then you matter may proceed to mediation and/or trial.When filing for divorce, you must specify the grounds on which you file for divorce.Grounds for divorceSome jurisdictions (i.e. state or province) have both no-fault and fault grounds for divorce. Some now only have no-fault grounds for divorce.No-fault simply means that your marriage has broken down and there is no chance of reconciliation.Two common fault-based grounds include adultery and cruelty. You must prove the basis on which you claim. Depending on the jurisdiction, there could be other fault-based grounds for divorce. Remember, whichever fault-based grounds you choose, you may have to prove it unless your spouse admits or fails to respond to your divorce petition.Filing your divorce paperworkIf your divorce is uncontested, you generally need to file your divorce materials in the city or municipality where either you or your spouse reside. If you and your spouse have children, you typically must file in the city or municipality where the children reside.Getting your divorce paperwork completedIf you're getting a do-it-yourself divorce, then be sure you get up-to-date divorce forms. The Internet is filled with legal forms - but not all of them are current.One way to speed up the paperwork and save you the hassle of learning what you all need to do is hiring an established do-it-yourself divorce service. This is an inexpensive alternative to hiring an attorney.About Using a Divorce ServiceAgain, in order to do a do-it-yourself divorce without going to trial, you and your spouse must agree on all the terms of the divorce. If you can manage agreement, the amount of money you can save by using a do-it-yourself service can be considerable compared to hiring lawyers. If you're close to agreement, consider jointly hiring a mediator to help you out. This is faster and cheaper than going to trial. You can attend mediation on your own or with a lawyer. It's your choice.