Has anyone represented themselves in a custody/divorce case?

PuzzleheadedPaint926 · 2024-03-21T22:04:26+00:00

I did for the settlement phase. My lawyer flat out told me she was dragging it out to run up my bills. Honestly it was dare I say fun. I have some law background so I filed one frivolous motion after another. Filed counter suits. Frustrated her lawyer so much he screamed at me to stop. Fuck him. I filed more. It cost me fifteen bucks to do it online and wasn’t like I could be disbarred. Judge liked me. I got everything I wanted and more.

Simple-Captain3421 · 2024-03-18T13:34:34+00:00

Where are you from?

I am in the UK and spent a fortune on solicitors. Acrimonious divorce. Got almost bankrupt.

I may be the odd one out here but looking back, if there is one thing I would do differently is to not hire a solicitor until before the court hearing, if court is where it ends. All the ultra-expensive email exchanges between the solicitors over 18 months in my case had no value/relevance in the final bundle. Plus, if you represent yourself, all the legal costs like filing, preparing bundle etc. will fall on the other side's solicitor with no charge to yourself, at least in the UK. Not a legal advise but if you represent yourself, make sure to "without prejudice" every interaction.

Your situation might be different than mine so worth seeking a second opinion.

nicetry900 · 2024-03-17T21:16:42+00:00

There is a range of reasonableness for settlement on all issues. You should discuss what that range is on all the issues (parenting time, child support, alimony/maintenance, and property division) with your attorney. You should ask your attorney to make a proposed settlement in the range early in the case and see if you can get the matter settled in the 20 hours if possible. Also, it will let you know what the difference is between the likely best case scenario for you and the likely best case scenario for her.

Old-Macaroon8148 · 2024-03-17T19:39:50+00:00

Set a trial date for as soon as possible. Free lawyer or not you have the option to set a date to stop the bleeding.

Wise_Serve_3140 · 2024-03-17T18:07:02+00:00

I would find the best possible lawyer you can afford

streetsmartwallaby · 2024-03-17T17:06:53+00:00

You didn’t mention anything about how complicated your divorce is going to be. The more complicated it is the more you’ll benefit from having a lawyer. The fact that you think your wife is going to make it difficult makes it far more likely that a lawyer will be worth the expense.

IllustriousCry672 · 2024-03-17T22:34:23+00:00

It'd worry me if she has a 'free' govt attorney, not sure how you get one for divorce. If it's just some sort of clinic that helps, they will probably be a lot less effective than you fear.

I seriously wouldn't try it if anything gets filed with a court. You can ride it out and talk mode, and review any docs to sign, but the moment something gets filed with a courthouse, you want an attorney. Way too easy for you to not be familiar with the local procedures and mess something up.

Title	Has anyone represented themselves in a custody/divorce case?
Author	Consistent-Cut-7608
Upvotes	2
Comments	7
Date	March 17, 2024 4:20 PM UTC (2 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/Divorce_Men
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/Divorce_Men/comments/1bh1jxn/has_anyone_represented_themselves_in_a/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/Divorce_Men/has-anyone-represented-themselves-in-a.1426006 https://theredarchive.com/post/1426006

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