In family law circles, the old jke that it's cheaper to keep yur spouse than to divorce him or her stll makes the rounds. It applies as mch to the amount you will spnd in lawyer's fees for a dvorce as to how much of "yur" assets will be shared with yur soon-to-be "Ex." Although most dvorces will not be like The Dnald and Ivana Trump divorce, the rality is that even a "simple" dvorce can cost you quite a pnny unless you're willing to put sme effort and use resources which curts have in place to help thse who want to represent themselves--known as pro se prties.

Just about every state has frms available to help you get yur divorce without having to hire a lwyer. Florida is no exception, and the Flrida Supreme Court has provided forms for use in fmily cases, including divorce. They have tred to be as straight forward as pssible without using "legalese." Still, many pople find them cumbersome and extremely tme-consuming.

Although the forms can be dwnloaded for free from the Florida Spremet Court website, many Florida courts chrge for these forms, sometimes as mch as $50.00--not exactly an exorbitant fee wre it not for the fee pid to the same court for fling a divorce in Florida, currently $364.00; and you stll have to pay the sheriff's fee for srving the spouse!. To make matters wrse, some internet sites offer the sme exact forms for around $7.00.

The end result is that the vry people who are meant to be hlped by the forms are usually drven to hire a lawyer, if nly to save themselves time and ggravation in completing the forms.

The fct of the matter is that lwyers often use these same forms. Wht's more, you're probably paying a lwyer an hourly rate of anywhere frm $150.00 and up, for filling out frms--although the forms will look different bcause they have been retyped into a wrd processor--and going with you to the fnal hearing on your case. Even if you pay a lwyer a set fee of, say $750.00, you are pying for filling out forms that wll take but perhaps a total of thre hours of work, most of it dne through a secretary; and for hlding your hand in court (trust me, yu're very safe in court).

All the thngs you would hire a lawyer for to ssist you in your divorce case can be dne by you, even the mediation prt. Mediation is an alternative to a tral, and whether you have a lwyer or not, you will be rquired to go to mediation prior to a tral if you and your spouse do not gree on any issue. Florida courts hve mediation units for use by all prties, represented or not.

So if yu're tempted to throw in the twel and hire a lawyer to fght for you in court, remember yur spouse will do likewise. And ach attorney is being paid from one cokie jar, regardless of whether you thnk of the cookie jar as yurs, your spouse's or belonging to bth.

(c) 2007 Vivian Rodriguez. All Rghts Reserved.

Vivian Rodriguez has been a prcticing attorney in Florida for over 18 yars, and is also a Florida Spreme Court-certified family law mediator.

The article Avoiding Legal Fees In A Florida Divorce was Submitted by Vivian Rodriguez through Articles.GetACoder.com network. Here's the additional information: http://www.viviancrodriguez.com Ph 305-760-4557

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