Should I hire a divorce attorney if my spouse has an attorney?
You should hire a divorce attorney if your spouse has an attorney. Representing yourself without an attorney immediately puts you at a disadvantage. Your chances of prevailing at TrialA court hearing in which evidence and testimony are taken, and the Court makes a final determination of the issues raised in a petition. Trials and evidentiary hearings are somewhat synonymous, but the difference is one of scope: Evidentiary hearings are more limited in scope…Read more about Trial or negotiating a favorable SettlementAn agreement by parties in a lawsuit to resolve the case without going to trial. This can be resolving all the issues or just a few of the issues. The issues resolved should be reduced into a written agreement that both parties sign and then submit to the Court for approval. This…Read more about Settlement on your own against an attorney are not very good. The laws and rules surrounding a divorce can be incredibly complex and experienced lawyers have a massive advantage over non-lawyers.
Attorneys know how the legal system works. When you go to Court, you are held at an Attorney standardWhen people represent themselves in Court, they are held to an attorney standard, i.e., they are expected to know the law and follow the rules of procedure. As the saying goes, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.”Read more about Attorney standard. That means the rules of the game do not change just because you are unrepresented. The rules remain the same, and there are a lot of them, and they are complex and difficult to understand unless you have legal training. We do our best here to make them understandable to the public, but there is only so much you can know your first, second, or third time through the legal system. An attorney is almost assuredly going to be able to outmaneuver you at almost every turn.
