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: Sam Hasler's Indiana Divorce & Family Law Blog

Do You Need A Lawyer for Your Divorce?

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That depends on what kind of a divorce you want. I say yes if you want the case to run smoothly (and, yes, a rocky divorce case with a divorce lawyer is better than the same kind of case without one).

The Missouri Divorce and Family Law Blog post sets out in Why You Need a Divorce Lawyer some very good reasons for getting a lawyer:

"Judges hold pro se litigants to the same strict standards and rules as attorneys, and honestly, most judges to not like people coming into court without an attorney.
If the other side has an attorney that is worth their salt, the pro se litigant will have probably lost the case months before they even get to court. Issues with jurisdiction, service, discovery, depositions, admissions, temporary orders, default, local rule compliance, etc. can blow the whole case.
Divorce is stressful enough without an experienced attorney who specializes in family law. The attorney can take much of the burden off of the litigant, reduce the length of the case, and hopefully negotiate a settlement where everyone wins and nobody goes to court. Its better that way, trust me.
You wouldn't perform your own surgery, why would you try to take on the court by yourself. Divorce lawyers are here for a reason."

But not all lawyers are the same. Divorce Lawyers Styles: Pit Bulls, Lambs and Foxes from Divorce and Family Law in Tarrant County, Texas sets out these differences and explains from our - the lawyers' view - why some types are not as effective as the public might think.

Once again, I find myself with a case where I have to clean up a mess where a lawyer in the divorce would have prevented problems for my client. The idea was to get one lawyer and save money. Problem is that one lawyer cannot represent both sides in a divorce.

Also, what we are talking about here with divorces applies to all family law cases.

Full post as published by Sam Hasler's Indiana Divorce & Family Law Blog on October 14, 2008 (boomark / email).