Getting a Divorce without Hiring a Lawyer

Whether or not you can or should handle your own divorce, depends on your circumstances.

A “straightforward” divorce can be handled by the spouses themselves. Take for example, the rare case of spouses:

• who are both physically and mentally healthy;
• who are equal financially (who have similar incomes, assets and debts);
• who have no children (or grown children who have completed university and are not disabled);
• who agree on how to divide their assets;
• who do not want or require child support or spousal support.

This rare couple may want to handle matters themselves, such as through a separation agreement or an “uncontested” divorce.

However, it is more common that matters are not straightforward and that people would greatly benefit from using a lawyer for their divorce.

People’s first reaction is almost always that their matter is straightforward, because they want it to be straightforward. In a sense, their needs or wants are simple (i.e. “I want half of everything”). Or, in a sense,  they want the process or outcome to be straightforward (“We’ll just sign something and get it over quickly.”).

Unfortunately, however, having straightforward wishes or wanting a straightforward process or outcome is not the same as having a straightforward case.

Reasons You May Need a Lawyer for Your Divorce

The following circumstances (cases) are not straightforward, because the spouses’ interests, and the law, can vary depending on many factors and nuances:

• one spouse has physical or mental health problems;
• the spouses have unequal financial means now or likely will in the future;
• one spouse makes considerably more income, or has considerably more assets or debts;
• the spouses disagree over how to divide the assets; the spouses disagree over whether child or spousal support will be paid by one of them, in what amounts, or for how long;
• the couple has children that both parents want to have care and custody of;
• either spouse has addictions, mental health issues, is abusive, is violent, or has had an affair.

Any one of these factors can make it very difficult for the spouses to come to a fair separation, without using lawyers.

The more issues that need to be dealt with, or the greater the value of those issues, or the more unreasonable one or both spouses may be, the more likely lawyers will be needed.

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