Divorce Without a Lawyer

Divorce without a lawyer can really be a big issue if you don’t know what you are doing. It is also an emotionally painful experience. Here are some hints about the task of filing for divorce.

The obvious reason for divorce without a lawyer or legal advice is because it is simply very cheap. The filing fee, to begin with, will be around $100 and if a response is filed, that number will increase.

But unless you really know what you’re doing, then that lawyer or legal service might be a resource you regret not investing in.

Many states policy includes “no-fault divorce”, which means that the courts are not concerned if any spouse was guilty of marital misconduct.

Divorce without a lawyer – Requirements:

There are a good number of requirements that you have to meet before you should even consider filing for divorce. The basic requirements are (In some states, you’ll find more requirements):

a) Residency: The spouse filling for divorce must have lived in the state of your residence for at least six months. As for county, your residency requirement is three months. (The time requirement may vary, depending on the region of the United States). In a few states, the residency requirement may be longer if the cause of the divorce occurred outside of the state.

b) Legal grounds to divorce: The most common is “Irreconcilable difficulties”, it has an extremely broad definition.  If you’ve faced marital problems that are irreconcilable and hurt the marriage, then you have legal grounds.

Other grounds to divorce can be:

• Inhuman or cruel treatment.
• Abandonment for more than one year.
• Imprisonment for more than three years.
• Adultery. Most adultery cases are proven by circumstantial evidence.
• Written contract of separation and spouses living apart for more than one year.
• Broken relationship between husband and wife for a minimum period of six months.

c) You will file for divorce in the court of your jurisdiction.

d) Waiting Period: There is a mandatory waiting period from the filing to the approval of a divorce, this waiting period can be from 6 to 12 months.

Each state court requires specific divorce forms, so you must follow your state specific procedure.

In summary, to divorce without a lawyer, you need to fulfill the above requirements and file a petition for divorce with the correct court in your jurisdiction.