Just noticed this in the Chicago Sun-Times (www.suntimes.com), written by Madlen Read. I thought it was interesting to this group as it shows that more and more people are getting divorce advice and services on the internet:
Edited-
Nicole Christie’s divorce cost $450 and took about three months to complete — that’s about 3 percent of what she spent on her wedding and a third the time it took to plan it.
Instead of hiring lawyers, she and her husband agreed simply to split their assets down the middle and fill out the divorce papers on a Web site.
To save money, time and energy, more couples have been turning to do-it-yourself divorces — filing to split without lawyers. It has been an option for years, but it has gotten easier and more widespread as more online resources have become available.
‘’There’s no question that there’s been a trend toward do-it-yourself divorces, and do-it-yourself law in general, in the past decade,'’ said attorney Alan Kopit, chairman of the American Bar Association’s division for public education and partner at Hahn Loeser & Parks LLP in Cleveland. ‘’More people are turning to the Internet'’
Divorce filing costs, rules and practices vary greatly by state. (In Illinois, the cost can vary by county, but is usually at least $90 to file and extra if you need the county to serve notice to your spouse, according to www.illinoislegalaid.org.)
Divorce attorney Sharyn Sooho said in Middlesex County, Mass., where she practices, about a third of all divorcing couples are now doing so without lawyers.
When you cut out legal expenses, most do-it-yourself divorces cost just a few hundred dollars.
‘’In a more typical case … you’ll save $3,000 to $4,000 per spouse,'’ said Sooho, who runs the Internet site divorcenet.com.
Today, attorney fees range from about $1,500 for simple divorces to tens of thousands of dollars — sometimes exceeding $100,000 — for more complex divorces.
Saving money was a big benefit for Keith Bowermaster and his high school sweetheart when they filed for divorce on their own to end their 11-year marriage. Instead of turning to lawyers, they picked up forms from the Dade County, Fla., courthouse and filed them themselves.
‘’Two hundred and seventy dollars was the total cost. Most lawyers charge that for an hour,'’ said Bowermaster. ‘’At the time, we just wanted to get this over with, move on with our lives, and not get everything dragged out with lawyers.'’
Of course, some divorces can be messy, and even the most amicable splits are rarely cut-and-dried. So how should a divorcing couple decide whether to hire attorneys?
*First, if there’s any disagreement over assets or doubt that a spouse is being forthcoming, a lawyer will likely be necessary.
*Even a couple that’s splitting amicably should take a look at their shared property, experts say. If a couple owns a home, a family business, or any other big or hard-to-value asset, an attorney may need to intervene to help decide how to allocate it, Kopit said.
*If a couple has a child, a do-it-yourself divorce is only feasible if you agree with your spouse on custody, visitation and guardianship issues. Even so, it’s helpful to at least seek the advice of a lawyer.
Online divorces are a great way of saving cash if both parties are open to discussion. SecretDivorce will save you money no matter how you do your divorce.
