Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce - Emily Doskow [182]
Web-Based Services
Some document preparation services interact with customers only through the Internet, which may be a boon to you if no walk-in service is available close to where you live. You'll answer questions on the website, and the forms will emerge from your computer or be mailed to you a few days later. You'll need to file the forms with the court yourself.
The main differences among the sites are how quickly your paperwork is available to you and price. Most online preparation services charge from about $139 to $300.
Online Document Preparation Services
Do your homework. Before you plunk down any money for document preparation services, check out the company. Some sites display a seal for the Better Business Bureau online, which means you can check on a report for that company at www.bbbonline.com. Not having the seal doesn't mean that the product isn't good, but use your judgment and spend some time looking around for what will work best for you. And while getting your documents immediately may seem appealing, check to be sure they're being reviewed before you get them.
Legal Advice
Sometimes you want some personalized guidance on legal matters, from someone who's handled lots of divorces and knows the pros and cons of the options you face. That's when you call a divorce lawyer.
Ways to Work With a Lawyer
The traditional way to work with a lawyer during divorce is to hire the lawyer, pay the fee, and then turn everything over to the expert. That's still the model many divorce lawyers follow (and expect you to follow), but it isn't the only way to go. A lawyer can work for you as a coach, a mediator, a collaborative representative, or an advocate out to get you the best possible deal. You can also hire a lawyer to handle only specific parts of your divorce.
One way to ensure that your case doesn't get away from you is for you and your spouse to use collaborative lawyers. Collaborative lawyers try hard to work with you and your spouse to settle divorce cases out of court and if you or your spouse later insist on a trial, you'll have to hire new lawyers and start over. (See "Collaborative Divorce," in Chapter 1.)
Another way to use a lawyer is as a consultant when you are working with a mediator. In fact, some mediators require that both spouses have an attorney of their own, called a consulting attorney, throughout the process. Even if they don't require it, many mediators will make sure that you at least have a lawyer look over the settlement agreement before you sign it. (See Chapter 4 for more about mediation and consulting lawyers.)
A consulting lawyer can explain your rights and the legal procedures you're dealing with, provide referrals to other professionals like actuaries or appraisers, help you decide whether a settlement offer meets your needs, or give you advice about any aspect of your divorce.
You can ask a lawyer to serve as your coach, answering questions and helping you negotiate as you do your own divorce.
Finally, you can ask a lawyer to help you only with specific tasks. This can make expert help much more affordable. Lawyers in many states are experimenting with something called "unbundled" legal services, meaning that you can hire a lawyer to represent you for just a specific part of your case.
So, for example, you could file your own divorce case, schedule a hearing (and file papers yourself) about how much child support should be paid while the divorce is proceeding, and then hire a lawyer just to come to the hearing and represent you in front of the judge. Or you could hire a lawyer to look over the marital settlement agreement that you and your spouse prepared yourselves after working with a mediator.
What a Lawyer Can Do for You
• help you with paperwork and deal