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Ask the Divorced Guy!
by Dean Hughson
Title: I Don't Have the Money for an Attorney
Question:
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I don't have the money for an attorney and my ex is driving me crazy with
filings on a wide range of things, after
our divorce. I have heard that the judges will let you defend yourself. How
does this work? Do you have to be smart to do it yourself?
Answer:
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Well, I have met quite a few people who are preparing themselves and going to
court to defend themselves. They are called pro se or pro per. Basically
they
may hire an attorney to advice them or help them prepare but they go into the
courtroom alone. Some do this also by going to paralegals and getting forms
prepared and service of documents done.
A web site which tells you more about this is at http://soho.ios.com/~legalhlp/
Would I do this? I am not sure. I guess it depends on the risk involved in the case. If we are talking about responding to something that could affect the custody of my kids only if I had a lot of experience and knowledge would I do it. I might consider it for other things though. The best, if you can afford it, is always to have an attorney--someone who knows the ropes of your area court.
DEFENDING YOURSELF IN COURT (Pro se)
More and more people are defending themselves. This is a result of either special programs in some courts, like Maricopa County Arizona http://www.maricopa.gov/clkcourt/services.html where they have a new program to help people do this, or because of either lack of money or trust in attorneys in general.
To do this you need to understand the system so you don't get thrown out of court for not filling out the forms correctly and also to be sure you are asking for something that can be done. Some people do a combination of hiring an attorney to help them on certain parts of their case and paralegals to do the forms,etc. A good place to start is to read everything you can get your hands on about defending yourself. A list of books that are available (you can even order them online) is at http://www.beyourownlawyerbooks.com/index.html Below find articles or web sites on pro se or with good links to law research that may be of help to you.
http://www.legalhelp.org
http://www.ltsi.net/lsc/prose.html
http://www.fullnet.net/transition/divorce.htm
http://www.towngreen.com/firstsec.htm
http://www.digital-lawyer.com/prose.html
http://www.ole.net/~tmb/jps/index.shtml
http://www.inetnow.net/~leehunt/prose/myprose.html
http://www.perkel.com/pbl/prose.htm
http://lawlib.wuacc.edu/washlaw/subject/prose.html
http://www.law.uiuc.edu/library/netsourc.htm
http://www.starnetinc.com/courtclerk/html/proseqfr.htm
http://www.mcspotlight.org/media/press/diylaw.html
http://webber.maricopa.gov/lawlibrary/Iconnect.html
http://www.value.net/~markwelch/famlaw.htm
http://www.lib.cmich.edu/bibliographers/judyodell/LawLinks.htm
http://www.divorcesupport.com/
Dean Hughson, called the Dear Abby of Divorced Dads by the KC Star, is the founder of the DIVORCE HOMEPAGE. He has talked to thousands of people contemplating divorce, going through divorce, or the chaos afterwards and gives referrals and advice. He resides in Nevada, the state with the highest divorce rate in the US.
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