Breem Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Hello. Need your help with regards to online divorce. How does this happen? Link to post Share on other sites
TaraMaiden2 Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 where are you? UK or USA? AFAIK, you choose a company, send off a fee, provide details as requested, and they prepare the paperwork. Fees may vary/escalate according to services they offer, and you require, but I don't think anything beats sitting down with a real-life solicitor (some companies offer "first half-hour FOC!") and discussing important points with them, to gain clarification. Write down the points you need answers on, have a detailed list of questions, or bullet-points, be prepared and then focus, concentrate and write. If needs be take a friend along to provide a second set of ears.... in case you miss anything. Link to post Share on other sites
testmeasure Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 I am not sure what future world you are from. At the county court level, it's mostly physical papers and face to face people, lawyers, and judges. There may be some company that helps you create forms and documents online. Imagine if there is conflict and disagreement in the divorce. One spouse could go on line and generate one set of documents. The other spouse could go on line and generate an entirely different set of documents. Then if they are trying to do it without lawyers, they would somehow (which I don't know because I used a lawyer) hand paper copies of the on-line documents to a clerk in the county court house. Divorce is not like amazon.com. It's complicated and different depending on exactly where you live, not down to the state or province (but that has a lot of influence), but actually down to the county or prefect determines exactly who hands who what physical paper and who speaks in front of whom when. Divorce is so much not an "online" thing. It's almost as strange as saying, "how do I go to jail online?" Legal stuff mostly doesn't happen online. Link to post Share on other sites
d0nnivain Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 At least in the US, while some virtual support may be possible, the divorce itself needs judicial approval, which necessitates paperwork. Valid service of process is also required. Be very careful about whom you take advice from. Practicing law without a license is a crime for a reason; you want to make sure the people on the other end of the computer are licensed attorneys. Remember if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Link to post Share on other sites
Snakechammah Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Wow, there is an online everything these days... Link to post Share on other sites
PegNosePete Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 There is no such thing as online divorce. Courts operate on a paperwork basis only. There are however, online services which can help you complete your divorce paperwork. They are usually cheaper than a real-life lawyer but you have to remember, you get what you pay for. Often these are staffed by paralegals or trainees or not by legally trained people at all. If something goes wrong (which it OFTEN does) you will be left high and dry, and it may cost you more to fix the mess they have made, than it would have cost to use a real-life solicitor from day 1. I would only use an online divorce service if (a) you feel you can't complete the paperwork yourself, and (b) you are absolutely 100% sure that your STBX will co-operate fully with the divorce process including the financial split and child arrangements. If there is any doubt whatsoever then it's much better to use a real-life lawyer. An online divorce is essentially a DIY divorce with a non-legally trained advisor. Link to post Share on other sites
Author Breem Posted January 5, 2016 Author Share Posted January 5, 2016 I was actually kind of shocked when I saw there's online divorce. I was dubious because I believe these kinds of things should be personal. I looked at one of the sites that offers it and I think it's mainly for paperworks only. Online forms and stuff. I'm still going for personal assistance from my lawyer. Link to post Share on other sites
MJJean Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 (edited) I did my own divorce. My ex and I each had our own cars, had already closed the joint accounts, and had both moved out of our former rental townhouse. So, we didn't have any assets to divide. We also didn't have any shared debt. We agreed on child custody with joint legal, full physical for me, "liberal visitation" for him. Our county court handles divorce. On the county website you can find a link to the papers in the format they accept. You log in, pay the fee, download the papers, fill them out, print them, and then take them to the courthouse to be filed. Once filed, you label the papers with the labels the filing clerk provides, the clerk scans them into the system, and prints out a Proof of Service paper. Someone over 18 and NOT related to either party can serve the papers, a process server can be hired, or they can be served by certified mail with the stipulation that only the recipient can sign for the envelope and must present ID. Once the serving is complete, the Proof of Service has to be signed in front of a Notary by the person who served the papers and then the notarized Proof of Service must be returned to the court by the date given. After the Proof of Service is returned, the system generates a court date and you appear before the judge with your papers, there is a brief Q&A session, divorce is granted, the divorce papers are stamped and you leave a free person with certified Judgement of Divorce in hand. I filed July 19, 2002 and had my final decree in hand October 23, 2002. I helped a friend do her divorce the same way. She filed April 5, 2015 and was divorced July 10, 2015. I paid a filing fee of $215 because my case involved children. My friend would have paid $175 because they had no children, but the court waived her filing fee because she is low income. The paperwork was simple, fill in the blank. The filing process was pretty straight forward. I spent an hour filling out the papers, a couple hours total in line at the courthouse to do the filing, and another hour and a half in the courtroom waiting to be called before the judge to get the divorce done. Of course, fees and the procedure might be different in your area. Probably are. This is just my experience. Edited January 5, 2016 by MJJean Link to post Share on other sites
Michelle ma Belle Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 My ex and I bought one of those do-it-yourself divorce kits and hammered out the bulk of details ourselves before we went to our lawyer to handle the more complex stuff like splitting of assets etc. We still had to file it in person at the court and pay the fees. Link to post Share on other sites
LifeNomad Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 u can def get the paperwork started online, you will still need to go to court and show face with judge but as far as paperwork and lawyers it can be done online saving you money. This only works if you have minimal to no assets that are in dispute and both parties are in mutual agreement. If you have any kids, properties etc definitely get a lawyer Link to post Share on other sites
Miss Peach Posted January 13, 2016 Share Posted January 13, 2016 I filed the initial paperwork myself. I had my lawyer file the final signed agreement. No court time was necessary where I live with a signed agreement. Link to post Share on other sites
Author Breem Posted January 27, 2016 Author Share Posted January 27, 2016 Thanks for the help! As unfortunate as this may seem, but we're going through the preparations now. Link to post Share on other sites
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