Besides being highly emotional, divorce can also be expensive, as you have to hire divorce lawyers often for extended periods.
Can you get divorced without money? Yes, you can, but you need to be strategic in how you go about it. To help you out, here is how to get a divorce with no money:
Agree to agree
The prime reason divorces end up being too expensive is that couples can’t agree on anything. They fight over alimony, property division, child custody, and almost anything else.
When you can’t agree with your ex-spouse, you have to involve a third party, usually lawyers, and they don’t come cheap.
To cut the costs, agree with your spouse on the contentious issues of your split before filing the divorce papers. This way, you don’t need to involve an attorney, arbitrator, or anyone else, making the process smooth and cheap.
Consult a lawyer but don’t have them represent you
As mentioned above, the primary reason why divorces get expensive is because you have to hire an attorney to represent you, and when the case drags on for months or even years, it becomes costly.
You should avoid hiring a full-time attorney to represent you to cut costs. Instead, consult one on how to approach the divorce, file the divorce papers, structure a deal, and any other thing.
The cool thing is that plenty of attorneys are happy to ghostwrite the divorce documents and even file for you in court on your behalf. Of course, you will have to pay them for this, but the fees won’t be as high as if you had hired them to represent you in court.
In the event the case goes to trial, you don’t have a way out—you have to hire an attorney to represent you, but still, you can cut the costs by hiring the attorney only when you have to be in court—on “as needed” basis.
Hire a smart paralegal
Many states will allow paralegals to draft documents for clients representing themselves in a divorce. Go through the laws in your state, and if they allow paralegals to draft the documents, find a smart one and ask them to help out.
The cool thing is that paralegals are cheaper than professional, experienced lawyers, so you don’t spend much on them.
While this is the case, ensure that the paralegal knows what they are doing. Take your time to research and ensure that the paralegal you are looking to hire has performed similar tasks before and will professionally do the filing.
As a rule of thumb, don’t get the documents filed by a paralegal if your state prohibits it. Also, regardless of the state, you live in, don’t get legal advice from a paralegal as they are prohibited from doing so.
Finance the divorce
Since you don’t have money, you can always get financing from financial institutions. While this provides some relief, you are at risk of accumulating huge debts, especially when the case stays for too long in court, so approach it with caution.
This move also isn’t a smart one and should always be the last resort. Family lawyers Fairfax VA recommend it only if you are sure that you will receive sufficient assets after divorce that you can offset and repay your loan and still remain with a substantial amount to move on with your life.
Seek pro-bono services
Many states offer pro-bono services to people facing financial difficulties. If you don’t have any other way out, go to your local municipal building or courthouse and see what is available to you.
