Should you consider a DIY divorce?

You might ask yourself that question if you're about to initiate a divorce, in the middle of one, or if you might see one down the road.  Some reasons to consider a DIY divorce might seem they're like legitimate ones. You might not have been married very long, for example, or you may not have bought a house together. You never opened joint accounts, or may not have children.  

Having kept relatively separate lives while you were married, you might well assume that a separation through divorce is, similarly, not a complicated matter.  Certainly, you don't imagine yourself as someone with a life so complex that you need an attorney to sort it all out.   

In addition, the desire to "DIY," from home improvement to financial and estate planning, seems to be more and more a part of life these days.  In your effort to minimize the disruption you perceive a divorce to represent to yourself you might be tempted to leave a lawyer out of it and "DIY".  

So what could a single-focus divorce attorney for men know, or tell you, that you may not have already figured out yourself?  For starters, a lawyer might rightly advise you that divorcing a partner is never as simple as picking your own stocks, fixing your own car or even renovating a bathroom. And not because the law is so complicated -- often, it's not -- or because courts are inaccessible to the common man -- according to the Constitution of the United States, they must be perfectly accessible.  

So why engage a divorce attorney for men in Jacksonville, Boca Raton, Gainesville, Fleming Island or Daytona?  A DIY divorce is a risk to you because divorce is always more than a legal procedure for you and your partner.  It is also an emotional experience.  As a result, it won't be entirely a rational process, for you or for her.  And as when anything - even a legal procedure - turns emotional, its outcome and its consequences become difficult, or even impossible, to predict by yourself.

Even if you don't own a house together, for example, there's probably still a home brimming with contentious possessions, not to mention an automobile or two -- you must divide with satisfaction on both sides. No matter if you have been an exceptional spouse, are you ready to put a hard price tag on alimony payments that will reduce your income into the foreseeable future?  

Underestimating the emotional cost to a divorce is also too easy. There are more unknowns than you imagine, no matter what plan you've worked out with your spouse ahead of actually filing.  Are you prepared to feel an unexpected possessiveness toward an heirloom, prepared to risk garnishment of wages because of a misunderstanding?  Do you understand what it means to follow not just the spirit of an agreement, but the letter of the law?

As a man, you appreciate professionalism - whether in tradesmen, athletes, doctors or lawyers.  If there were ever a time in your life when you needed professional advice - rational, dispassionate advice from the beginning of the divorce process to the end - that time is now.

Kenny Leigh and Associates is a divorce attorney for men only in Boca Raton, Jacksonville, Gainesville, Fleming Island and Daytona.  Our focus is family law with a singular focus on representing men.  We are ready to serve you.  Be sure to contact Kenny Leigh and Associates if you have any questions about a DIY divorce, and certainly before you take any step toward divorce.