Legal Question in Family Law in Arizona
married 9 yrs. seeking legal advice pertaining to divorce. am concidering representing my self due to financial hardship. there is a history of domestic violence resulting in jail time, probation and anger management classes on the other party. there are no children involved, no property, no debt. i am unemployed and collecting benifits. he has worked at the same job for ten yrs and makes $22 per hr. works 40+ hr per week. he has a bank account, savings, IRA, life insurance policy all in his name only. the only real property we do have is a car that he had transfered into his fathers name last week. is it safe for me to represent myself and am i eligible for spousal support. please advise
2 Answers from Attorneys
You can always represent yourself. It is called proceeding pro se. Generally it is more advisable to have legal representation, but if you cannot afford it or you cannot obtain legal aid or free legal representation you will be forced to go it alone. You most likely can get some help, though, from your county's clerk of court as to what forms can be used for filing standard things like a "petition for dissolution of marriage." And yes you may be able to obtain spousal support especially since you are not working. Best of luck to you!
All things being equal, you would of course benefit from having experienced representation. Yes, you certainly can request spousal maintenance.
We can certainly help you consider and then pursue your options.
We have three attorneys. We charge from $220 per hour to $250 per hour. Our retainers can run as low as $500 for demand letters/phone calls, $1200 plus costs for uncontested matters, or from $2,000 to $4,000 for most contested matters.
We also can structure assistance to help you represent yourself if your prefer.
Please remember that a retainer is just a prepayment of time, and is not an estimate as to the total costs of the matter. If I finish within the retainer, than I refund any unearned amounts.
One of our attorneys can explain the issues and procedures better in person. As you can imagine, there is too much to cover via email. We offer free 1/2 hour consultations, in which we can discuss your matter in detail.
Please call us directly to discuss the specifics of your matter, or contact my assistant Gloria or my paralegal Jennifer to schedule your free 1/2 hour consultation
/s/ Rich J. Peters
RJ PETERS & ASSOC., P.C.
1422 North 2nd Street, Suite 100
Phoenix, Arizona 85004
602-254-7251
facsimile 602-254-1229
see our website at www.familylawaz.com
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