Cheap divorce????

[Lboogie23]

Does any one know of any ways to make a divorce well.... less pricey?

I mean are there any good online sites, i was looking myself but i ended up getting the run around and got frusterated.

[ebsmith1]

If you two are getting along well you could try going to a mediator for your separation agreement. Most of those are income based. I have children so we had a year wait before our divorce could be final (law in our state). So we spend a little over $100 for the mediation to draw up our agreement. After the year I found a lawyer who did no fault/uncontested divorces for $375 and it was finished. I know there are ways to do it online but I was scared it wouldn't be done right.

[flower99]

Yep mediation is the cheapest way I know of.

[Scotcha]

Well, you can always do the paperwork yourself. That's what I did. Go to the county clerk's office and pick up a divorce packet. But the only way this works is if it's uncontested. (Meaning that both parties agree to the divorce.)

 

I don't know if the same applies to every state but in New York there is even a form called "The Poor Man's Packet" and if this is filed and the criteria is met the divorce fee's can be totally waved. But even without this my divorce costed less than $300 and it didn't take too long either.

[BeStrongBeHappy]

Uncontested divorces are really not too expensive, if you find an attorney who is sincere and not trying to run up the costs...

 

I suggest you call a few attorneys in your state, and propose that you have an idea of the separation agreement you want to draft, and do NOT want to have a long court battle... those that are good attorneys will have a 'boilerplate' already in place, where you can just insert your own assets and needs into a formula, and not charge you a lot to fight it out in court...

 

but if your spouse will not agree to negotiate and sign a separation agreement, then that's when it gets really pricey..

 

good luck, and try to point out to your spouse that if you argue too much about this, then only the LAWYERS get rich, and deplete your assets paying them.

 

i went through a divorce where i explained this to my spouse, and he understood there was not reason to be STUPID, and we both agreed to who would pay what, and who would get what, then just paid the lawyer to write this up...

 

didn't cost us much, and didn't pay the lawyers much either...

 

good luck, realize that anger should not be litigated, is not worth the price, just be practical, and separate the assets, move on, both of you, to a better life.

[prtygrl1973]

Does any one know of any ways to make a divorce well.... less pricey?

I mean are there any good online sites, i was looking myself but i ended up getting the run around and got frusterated.

 

no, go get a lawyer - put it in your cost that he pays it.

 

DON"T use the same lawyer if you have kids

 

if you don't have kids you can use the same lawyer.

 

less pricey... i understand what you mean, but this is the rest of your life... maybe something you don't want to "screw" yourself on.....

 

You may get more for your buck..... My lawyer was 2000 retainer and 165 each hour that she took out of the retainer.........

 

if he was going to drag it on, i was going to put my lawyer fees in his cost!

 

We ended up getting back together but I am going through a divorce with a friend right now --- Im the free lawyer, i know a lot more about this than i thought i did!! lol I say somethign and she goes back and her lawyer tells her the same thing!!

[prtygrl1973]

AGREE 100%

[Lboogie23]

thank you for your help, its not for me, but for my friend. They have been separated for over 3 years and have no children together. They do not get along at all, whatsoever. But he has started a new life with someone else and wants this divorce. His wife probably won't contest it bc she does not have much money to begin with and she has started a new relationship as well.

[Jetta]

I did my via an online site and I DON'T recommend it. Everything seemed fine, we both agreed to the terms, signed it, went to trail and were divorced. Now his family got involved and well I've since lost my job, lost custody of our daughter, and had a complete breakdown. I couldn't get legal aid to even help me. Hold off until you can reasonably afford an attorney. Unless he's beating you or something, that's my advice.

 

There fees now are well worth saving you from the complete heartache and destruction that could come later. Now if you don't have kids than by all means go ahead. I never saw this coming and wouldn't have believed he'd do this to me, and ultimately to her. Had I gone through an attorney initially I could have called her and likely prevented a lot of this from happening. They may bill you later but the initial fee carries over sometimes.

[Jeff777]

How'd u lose custody of your daughter? How could a lawyer have helped?

I have physical custody of my (4) kids and my wife is telling me she is going to fight me for custody. (We're not divorced yet).

 

However, my wife is currently in a county Jail in Florida on charges of cocaine possession, prescription drug possession. She has a history of depression as well.

 

The family court as well as child and family services is well aware of what has been going on with her.

 

I guess since I just had her served while she's in jail - that made her sad. She said she wanted to come back and start over.

 

Prison promises?