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 trial or negotiating a favorable 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 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.