I Have Had Some Legal Training And Need A Simple, Easy Divorce. Can I Do It Myself In Florida?

There are many people who believe that their divorce will be simple and easy and that there aren’t any issues to decide.

In many cases, they may get a form book about how to do a DIY divorce, and believe that they can do their own divorces and save tons of money in legal fees.

Books on how to do your own divorce are readily available, and they can lead people to think that divorces can be quick and easy and painless and there is no need to involve attorneys.

However, as a divorce attorney, I very rarely see a divorce that is truly simple, with no undecided issues.

In most cases, couples that try to negotiate their divorce details and then draft their own agreements end up disagreeing about issues, making a mess of the paperwork involved, and incorrectly filing the paperwork with the necessary courts or carrying it through to its necessary conclusion.

Some people think they have an easy divorce because they weren’t married long, or don’t have many assets or debts, or have no children.

Even though that sounds like an easy situation, there are still some issues that could be involved that could lead to a contested divorce, like potential alimony or the division of whatever assets or debts the couple does have.

If a couple has children, the issues become even more complicated - how are custody and visitation handled? What about child support? What about spousal support?

In some cases, divorcing spouses may reach a decision on most issues, but when they draft their own agreement, the document is poorly written and provisions in it may conflict with each other.

That could lead to more litigation that could end up costing more money than if attorneys had been involved in the first place.