There is a recent trend for people to give serious consideration to representing themselves in a divorce rather than investing in a divorce lawyer. While the cost of an attorney is often more than someone would like to pay, there are many reasons for a party to a divorce to forego representing themselves and instead spend the money and consider it an investment. The following are five reasons a party should hire a lawyer in a divorce.
1) There are two reasons for a divorce to be granted in Florida. The first is that the marriage is irretrievably broken. The second is that one of the parties is mentally incapacitated. Hiring a family or divorce lawyer Jacksonville, Fl. will enable a person to determine how their particular divorce fits under either of these mandatory requirements.
2) Everyone is held to the same standard, whether they are a lawyer or not. This means each side in the divorce has certain things they have to prove and a failure to prove these elements will require the judge to deny the divorce and, in addition, the judge is not allowed to tell a non-represented party how to correct the problem.
3) The paperwork must be done correctly and completely. As an example, a failure to properly prepare the final decree and address the property and/or the debts may mean it is necessary to come back at a later date and hire a family or divorce lawyer in Jacksonville, Fl. to correct the mistake. This can cost substantially more than hiring one to do the paperwork correctly in the first place.
4) Some cases require experts to testify. Only a lawyer will be able to identify those issues.
5) Even contested cases can often be resolved through informal methods like mediation, but only experience will allow these cases to be identified. These informal methods usually make the case less emotionally draining for the parties.
