If you and your spouse have decided to end your marriage, you may be tempted to handle the divorce proceedings yourself. Do-it-yourself divorce kits seem appealing and are advertised as an inexpensive and faster alternative to hiring a lawyer. While New Jersey divorce law does allow for spouses to handle their own divorces, the end results are not always favorable. This may not be readily apparent at first but usually post-judgment litigation arises where one or both parties represented themselves during the divorce and their property settlement agreement is poorly drafted and/or no discovery was conducted.
Even marriages that do not involve children or high-net worth assets can be difficult to dissolve. Navigating the often murky waters of divorce court can be fraught with pitfalls. When you choose to file for a New Jersey divorce without an attorney, you are ultimately responsible for the paperwork and the negotiations.
Believe it or not, Pro Se litigants are held to the same Court Rules and standards as attorneys. Even simple filing errors can be costly and have far-reaching consequences.
As such, it is not uncommon for do-it-yourself divorces to end up being more expensive in the long run than retaining an experienced NJ Divorce Lawyer to assist you. Remember, the public policy in the State of New Jersey is to uphold agreements that parties make in a divorce. It is not up to the Court to make a better deal for you than you made for yourself.
For example:
Jane and Bob decided to divorce and since they had no children and were fairly amicable, they decided to go online and handle their divorce themselves. Unfortunately, Jane and Bob failed to address the distribution of Bob’s retirement account when they ultimately settled their divorce and finalized the matter at an uncontested hearing. Now, Jane must file a post-judgment application and fight an uphill, if not impossible, battle to try and amend the property settlement agreement to get what would have been her share of a martial asset. She is surprised, if not shocked, to find that the Court denied her motion to amend the property settlement agreement.
There are numerous mistakes spouses make when attempting to handle their own New Jersey divorces, including:
- Mislabeling custody in a property settlement agreement, or confusing custody issues with parenting time issues;
- Forgetting about an asset, or debt for that matter, when determining equitable distribution (division of property);
- Failing to correctly address tax issues, including trading assets that do not have equal tax implications;
- Failing to properly secure the payment of child support or alimony in the event of the payor’s death;
- Loss of an otherwise recognizable right, either economic or non-economic, simply because it is not raised by either party;
- Failure to properly calculate alimony or child support;
- And more
New Jersey Divorce Attorney You Can Trust
Before you decide to handle your own divorce, call the Law Offices of Sylvia S. Costantino, Esq., LLC. During your in-depth consultation, Attorney Costantino will review your situation and show you the benefits of retaining a lawyer to represent you in the divorce process. With affordable legal fees and aggressive representation, you can be sure your divorce will be handled quickly and that your legal rights will be protected.
Why stay up at night worrying about your divorce? Now is the time to face this head on with an experienced family law attorney who can answer your questions and lead you through this process.
The New Jersey divorce lawyers at the Law Offices of Sylvia S. Costantino, Esq., LLC have successfully represented individuals and families throughout Monmouth, Ocean, Middlesex, Ocean and Somerset Counties as well as surrounding areas in the State of New Jersey. Call us today at 1-732-615-9100 or fill out our contact form for more information.
