what is DIY divorce?

September 28, 2011 by Suzy

There are two varieties:

DIY out of court – which means you get the necessary paperwork from your local family courthouse, fill it in, submit the forms and if both of you agree on everything then hey presto, it’s all done and dusted. Of course you will need to wait two years after an official separation if you want to avoid stating grounds for the divorce – such as infidelity, abandonment etc – but even then couples sometimes agree to ‘lay blame’ for something that they both know is not true on one of them, in order to not have to wait that long.

There are many online ‘quickie divorces’ that can be bought, which can provide guidance in filling in the paperwork, make sure that the grounds are are correct for the couple, advise on behaviour petitions, ancillary relief paragraphs and also when it comes to the finances prepare consent orders that include pension sharing. Don’t just go for an online divorce option because you think it will be ‘quick’ or ‘cheap’ – there are some very reputable online services who provide realistic timescales but even so success depends upon the divorcing couple agreeing on everything and being reasonable about how they share any assets. At the end of the day, a judge has to rubber stamp your financial agreement part of the divorce and if they feel it is not ‘fair’, you’ll have to go back to the drawing board.

DIY in the court – which is where you represent yourself in court against your spouse. Self representing is called being a ‘litigant in person’ or LIP for short. Although you do not use a solicitor, there is nothing to stop you getting legal advice, paying the hourly rate for specific details that you don’t want to spend hours researching, or because you want to get some initial guidance. Or you can pay less and get that guidance from someone who supports LIP’s and knows where to find the relevant information.

Top tips from LIPservice for anyone wanting to (or financially needing to) self represent is to become aware of the Public Direct Access Scheme, through which you can hire your own barrister – rather like a hired gun – to represent you for specific areas of the court case. It is costly (can be at least £1,500 for one hearing) but if there are complex issues regarding child custody, your spouse threatening to go bankrupt, hiding of assets or just being too scared to be on your own fighting your corner, then it could be money well spent. Unfortunately, going to court is an expensive option which is why avoiding it wherever possible is a good idea.

Although solicitors can represent you in court, the cost will still be high and they are not specialized advocates. If you are going to get specialized help and pay all that money, make sure you get someone who has the experience and expertise to give you your money’s worth.

If you find yourself as an LIP up against your spouse’s barrister in court, and you feel it is a tad unfair that they can spend all that money on legal support while you can’t even get legal aid and have no funds available in the form of assets through which you can reasonably raise finance for a litigation loan, then despair not. To put you on a slightly more even footing in your ability to gain legal advice or pay for a barrister, you can apply for a cost allowance as there is a legal requirement that some kind of fairness needs to exist when it comes to the process of divorce. The one who holds the purse strings should not be the only one who can afford to pay for legal advice.

Shared stories by LIP’s: read them here…..

Why should I do DIY divorce?

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why should I do a DIY divorce?

September 28, 2011 by Suzy

Online divorce or – even cheaper – just going to get the paperwork from the courts and doing it all yourself – is the least expensive way to get a divorce, providing neither party is going to disagree with any aspect of the divorce. In other words, if you have no complicated assets – like pensions to split which is a very specialized area, or child access issues – then DIY is probably your best option.

The key advantages are that you don’t need to hire a specific lawyer or legal firm; there is no reason for the divorce to be held up as long as you both fill in the required paperwork; and providing your financial settlement is deemed fair by the judge who will have to rubber stamp the paperwork then the whole thing can be dealt with painlessly from a practical point of view.

Even if you need help deciding how to split pensions and equity in property etc, you can both make use of a financial planner or financial mediator who has the relevant experience to help you, which would be sensible. Someone mediation trained is likely to be able to support you through any tricky discussions and keep the process amicable. Most lawyers don’t have the specialized skills to sort out pension splitting so choose the support you get carefully, getting the right person to do the job they have trained for.

Self Representing

Self Representing or being a Litigant In Person (LIP) also saves you money by not employing a solicitor, and you still have the freedom to be in charge of your own case, although the fact that you are going to court means you are going to spend more money than if you had agreed on everything and stayed out of court.

Why become an LIP?

To save costs on solicitors fees;

Staying in control of the process – only you understand your case inside and out and potentially you are the best person to fight your own corner;

Because mediation was not an option;

You don’t qualify for legal aid;

You fancy a challenge.

But there are downsides to being an LIP.

A huge research job and complex case management, even if you have basic legal knowledge;

No-one will thank you for all your hard work – in fact you may feel bullied by your spouse’s lawyers and District Judges are reputed to dread LIP’s because of the amount of extra time they take up in court through not understanding legal process or having the correct information to hand in supporting documents.

A tip from LIPservice is to write to the District Judge prior to the court date and introduce yourself as an LIP, and say that you “may be at times relying on the court’s assistance”, which gives the court advance warning of your position.

Then having warned them that you are not supported by a solicitor or barrister in court, make sure you manage your case efficiently. Keep a spot-on trial bundle, 3 copies of everything, and sufficient Authorities (precedents or previous cases where the judge has found in favor in an identical case of what you are trying to get this judge to do) which you have fully researched and printed out in advance.

All this may seem very daunting – and it is – but you can get advice and support from online forums on Wikivorce or more directly from companies like LIPservice.