Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia

divorce

can you file for divorce yourself , without a lawyer, how do you get legal documents needed to file?


Asked on 11/11/04, 11:00 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Fred Kaufman Fredrick S. Kaufman, Esquire

Re: divorce

Do it yourself divorce? Not a good idea but I guess you can do it.

Any good bookstore will have legal form books. Any circuit court clerk's office may have forms (but they are never helpful)

Not a good idea to do your own divorce if you want child support, child custody, spousal support, award of your spouses work assets (401k or retirement); division of any disputed personal property, equity in real estate or fault grounds of divorce.

Many lawyers will consult for free. Find one. See how complicated your divorce is. At any rate, cheap divorces can be found if you have none of the issues I've listed. Find an inexpensive lawyer rather than do it on your own.

You could arrange to buy a form book, do it, pay a lawyer his hourly rate to review it before filing.

Good luck

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Answered on 11/12/04, 10:35 pm
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: divorce

You can pick up a packet of forms from the clerk's office(civil division)of any circuit court which will also have instructions as to how to file for a divorce in the Commonwealth without a lawyer(pro se).

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Answered on 11/11/04, 11:28 pm


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