When people decide to get divorced in California, they are often looking for the quickest, easiest, and cheapest way to get it over with so that they don’t have to deal with the emotional and financial headaches that can come with divorce. Quite often, they search for Do-It-Yourself divorce kits (or, likely just as often, internet ads pop out at them promising to save them time and money) as a cheap alternative to working with a California family law attorney.
But what may be sold to as you quick, easy, and cheap in the moment can lead to far more costly financial and relational problems that can drag on for years and which may be irreversible in some cases.
Many DIY Divorce Kits Just Offer Publicly Available Info and Documents
First off, it’s important to understand just what you are getting with your cheap, “stress-free” DIY divorce kit. Most DIY kits advertise the fact that they are “lawyer-free” as if selling you something that doesn’t include legal advice is somehow a bargain.
Look at what they are indeed selling you. Is it just a bundle of forms and directions on how to fill those forms out? All of the forms that you need to file for divorce and directions on how to fill them out is available for free (funded by you as a California taxpayer) on California state and local family law websites.
You Cannot Get Legal Advice From a DIY Kit
Again, just giving you the government-issued forms necessary to file for divorce is no better than what you can receive for free from publically available resources.
What is really important in making sure your divorce is handled properly is the legal advice from an experienced professional tailored to your specific financial and family situation which informs you of your rights, obligations, and options under the law, and counsel to guide you and your family through every step of the process to make sure you get your best possible outcome.
A DIY kit, by definition, cannot offer you that.
The Financial and Relational Stakes for a California Divorce Are Often High
In a California divorce, you and your spouse will be figuring out financial issues which can have enormous consequences for the both of you for years to come. You will need to understand what property is separate property and community property, and how to properly divide it between the two of you pursuant to California law. You will also need to determine whether spousal support is appropriate, how much should be paid, and for how long, which can sometimes dwarf the financial implications of just your current property.
In addition, if you have children, you will need to create a custody and/or visitation plan while also determining how much child support is required in light of the custody plan. Again, the consequences of these decisions will last for years, costing you many, many thousands of dollars
Divorce Orders Can Be Difficult to Modify Later
While a divorce order can later be modified by a court, do not expect that if you mishandle your divorce by relying on a DIY kit that it will be simple to just come back to court a few months later to get it right. Courts generally want to see significant changes in circumstances to modify divorce orders, and, in either case, may require you to incur even greater expense than simply working with an experienced California family law professional in the first place.
For any questions on family law in California, contact the Law Office of Kelley C. Finan today to schedule a consultation to discuss your circumstances.