Couples Divorcing Without Lawyers Face Complex Process
The recession is keeping some couples together who might have divorced in more prosperous times, rather than riding out a difficult relationship. In Detroit, especially, where unemployment and a depressed housing market have hit as hard as anywhere in the country, the approach towards divorce is changing to meet the market difficulty.
Hiring lawyers can sometimes be an expensive proposition, and for those who have it tough financially, hiring a lawyer is not always feasible. According to The Detroit News, local courts are reporting that the number of couples who are divorcing without lawyers is on the rise.
The courts are also reporting the downside of these lawyer-free divorces, which includes incomplete forms and lessons that judges must deliver to inexperienced court attendees. And to go along with the crowded legal offices and slow proceedings, the courts are saying that some couples seeking divorce are missing out on property and custody that could legally be theirs.
Mark Switalski, chief judge of the Macomb County Circuit Court, noted the change in the divorcing couples of today from those of the past. Today, he told The Detroit News that these days couples are fighting over splitting up home and credit card debts, while in the past the starkest challenges came over home assets.
If I’ve got a pot of $100,000 to split up, it’s different than if I’ve got a pot of $5,000 to split up,
said Switalski. That factors into their ability to retain counsel.
In Macomb County, the number of couples who began divorce proceedings without a lawyer rose by 16 percent between 2007 and 2009. Lawyers and judges in other nearby counties similarly reported that they had seen similar trends, with more potential divorces representing themselves.
Switalski said that he had to stop the proceedings more frequently to explain legal issues to spouses in divorce cases. The county has even taken to scheduling those representing themselves for Monday afternoons, so that they don’t slow down and disrupt the cases of those who have hired professional legal counsel.
If it was a lawyer in front of me,
said Switalski, I’d have a ton of questions and I’d get good answers.
For those representing themselves, the Oakland County courthouse recommends the law library. There is a manual describing how to conduct a divorce without a lawyer, and the library’s director told The Detroit News that the manual is the single most popular book in the library.
While couples can download some necessary forms online, often for a fee, problems can arise when those forms aren’t allowed, and a couple has to leave and return with approved forms.
Predictably, the more complex a divorce, the more likely there are to be errors if a couple is representing itself. And neutral judges can’t offer advice when spouses mistakenly or unnecessarily turn down things they can’t reverse, or miss out on payments or custody claims.
Family law practitioners have offered ideas about helping alleviate this burden. Among them would be to allow divorce lawyers to work on parts of a divorce case, rather than the entire thing, which could reduce fees.
