Legal Question in Family Law in Tennessee

Re: question about divorce

You no more "have to" use a lawyer when you get a divorce than you "have to" use a dentist when you get a root canal.

Personally, I don't want to try doing my own dental work. "Filing the right papers" is only part of the issue. In an agreed divorce, called an Irreconcilable Differences divorce in Tennessee, preparing the agreement properly is far more important. I understand that you may be thinking that if you and your wife agree, then all you need to do is to write down what your agreement is and that should be it. But it is not.

If you want general information on divorce and parenting issues, check my website at jesbeard.com. If you and your wife are genuinely in agreement, then put down the basic terms of the agreement and then go to an attorney to see that everything is drafted properly and that future potential problems are addressed in the agreement.

If you don't, you and your wife will likely encounter a problem in the future resulting from your failure to use an attorney, and to correct the problem you are then certain to need an attorney, and you will end up paying far more than you would have to start with.

Re: question about divorce

I help parties file agreed divorces, even when there are children involved. I charge only for the paperwork and not my time in court, because you are actually representing yourself in court. See http://michaelguth.com/prose.htm

Most Chancery Courts do require a set of 4 or 5 parenting classes. To learn your county's requirement, you should call the "Clerk and Master" of Chancery Court, speak to a deputy clerk, and ask if parenting classes are required in an agreed divorce where there is agreement on visitation.