Whether you are pro se or are able to hire a lawyer, the degree to which you are able to achieve success in your divorce case depends entirely on your plan. Decide early on what issues are important to you, and figure out what you need to give up or show in order to have…
Month: May 2016
Pro Se Litigation – Coaching from Lawyers
If you don’t feel like you can afford a lawyer, you’re almost certainly not alone. But you should consider setting some money aside to get some coaching from a lawyer. An initial consultation can be very worthwhile, just to help you start planning your divorce. You should also consider buying an hour-long “coaching session” before…
Pro Se Litigation – Using the Internet
This week we’re talking about resources available to you if you have to represent yourself in your divorce case. You’d be amazed what you can learn from doing internet searches. Google whatever question you might have about how to handle some aspect of your case, and you’ll probably be pointed in the right direction. The…
Pro Se Litigation – Libraries
This week we’re talking about pro se litigation – i.e., representing yourself. Yesterday I suggested you can minimize disadvantages you may have by not having a lawyer if you believe in yourself. Today we’re going to talk a little more about what resources you do have. Probably the first thing you should do is learn…
Pro Se Litigation – Attitude is Important
What if you can’t afford an attorney and have to represent yourself (“pro se”)? Are you completely out of luck? Odds are, you’re not alone. A quick Google search for “statistics pro se divorces” shows staggering rates of pro se representation in divorce and other family law cases, often more than 50% in many jurisdictions….
Property Division in Lieu of Alimony
[Ed: Originally published on Facebook.] Yesterday we talked about the interplay of alimony and property division. Often it can make sense to pay more alimony in exchange for a more favorable property division. Note the reverse can be true, in a sense – the court can adjust its property division to make up for the fact…
Alimony in Lieu of Property Division
[Ed: Originally published on Facebook.] Alimony and property division often intersect. One is an award from the CURRENT estate, and the other is an award from the FUTURE estate. Sometimes, the current estate is relatively modest, but one spouse has a substantial amount of “separate” property, not subject to being divided or awarded to the other…
Why Do We Have Alimony?
[Ed: Originally published on Facebook.] We’re looking at alimony this week. Historically, alimony was awarded as a recognition that the traditional role of the husband was to be the “breadwinner” outside the home, while the traditional role of the wife was to care for the home and/or the children. Women in general did not have the…
What is “Alimony”?
[Ed: Originally published on Facebook.] This week we’re going to explore the concept of “alimony”. We start with a basic definition – alimony is support (almost always money) paid by one spouse to the other. If you see references to “spousal support”, that’s alimony. You may occasionally see older references to “alimony for the support of…
Other Forms of Alternative Dispute Resolution
[Ed: Originally published on Facebook.] Mediation is the most common, but certainly not the only, form of “alternative dispute resolution”. Let’s take a brief look at a couple of others. “Arbitration” is similar to an actual trial. The arbitrator(s) (there can be more than one) will make a decision, just like a judge will. The parties…