Why Pro Se Divorces End Up Requiring A Lawyer's Help
When you decide to do a pro se divorce, you may be thinking it is the easiest thing in the world. Your partner may be quite agreeable to the terms you both decide are fair and equitable. The paperwork you need to file is all online and printable, and you only have to pay court filing fees. Simple, right? Sure, at the moment, but situations change, and divorced partners rarely like how things turn out, especially when one partner begins to succeed in life and has more than the other partner or the other partner wants more time with the kids than he or she originally agreed to. You may need a divorce lawyer at this point. Here is more on why pro se divorces almost always (and eventually!) require a divorce attorney's help.
Greed and Jealousy
Greed and jealousy are quite common emotions after a divorce has been finalized. One partner gets jealous of what the other has or what the other has accomplished after the divorce. If he or she does not work or has not worked quite as hard or become as successful as you, your former spouse may feel the jealousy bug and begin to feel greed as well.
Since there are no statutes or limitations on how often spouses can drag each other into court over details, even after the divorce is final, your former spouse could take you back to court to sue for more child support, more time with the kids, more alimony, the marital home, property that was once his/hers but he/she gave it to you in the divorce and now wants it back, etc. Unless a judge decrees a final ruling on a matter, your former spouse can keep taking you back to court over these matters. Without a lawyer to request a final ruling on matters, the "divorce" just never really ends.
Mental Health Issues
If your previous spouse had some major mental health issues, you will need a lawyer's help eventually. People with mental health issues often act, think and/or behave in irrational ways and/or may be high-conflict people, thriving on the drama playing out in a courtroom. Because you can no longer point the finger at mental health disorders and tell a judge that this is a problem, you need a lawyer who can think outside the box and still present information logically to the judge to defeat the claims and requests of your former spouse. Your pro se divorce may not have laid out perfectly clear rules, boundaries and guidelines, which causes your former partner with mental health issues to keep returning. Get a lawyer from the start, and avoid years of conflict and drama.
To learn more about how a divorce lawyer can benefit you, check out websites like http://gomezmaylaw.com/.
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