To make sure your rights are
protected, hire an attorney. If you and your spouse can work
together well enough, as an alternative, you might do the following:
- Sit down together with a your spouse
and a mediator who will help you work out the settlement. (The
Mediator cannot give legal advice.)
- After the settlement agreement has been
reached, you can either file for the divorce yourself or have an
attorney take over at that point to deal with the court.
- If you choose to go it alone you will
be doing a lot of work that the attorney would be doing for you.
It's like any other do-it-yourself project: you'll save money,
but you'll have to work.
|
Thirty-four per cent of divorces in
Dallas County are pro se, or done without a lawyer.
It is advisable for anyone seeking
a divorce to have legal counsel, however, it is not required.
Necessary forms are available on
line, and instructions are available from the courts for those who want
to go it alone.
Usually, when a couple agrees to
go through the divorce process without a lawyer, they still need someone
to help them iron out such things as:
- Property Settlement
- Division of Indebtedness
- Division of Future Income
from Retirement, Annuities, etc.
- Child Custody
- Child Support
- Visitation Rights
A professional mediator is
best qualified to help you work out the settlement agreement.
|
Joe B. and Marona Hewitt
well understand the heartaches that come from divorce. Joe has had
39 years of experience in marriage and family counseling. Marona has
had many years of experience doing workshops with people who have
been through divorce.
Although Marona is a retired
attorney, and can help you reach a fair settlement, she cannot give
legal advice.
We can advise you where to
find the necessary forms on the Internet and a list of rules to
follow from the court. We can also refer you to attorneys who can
advise you and/or file the necessary documents after you have
reached a settlement agreement in mediation.
|