What Is an Online Divorce Service?
Online divorce services are websites that help you complete divorce forms on your own. You then file them and proceed with the court procedure on your own. There are many online divorce services with differences in prices and services, so it is important to compare and contrast before making a choice.
The service does not finalize your divorce or interact with the court at all. They are just a document preparation service.
How to Choose the Best Online Divorce Service
The best way to choose an online divorce service is to first evaluate what your needs and abilities are. Ask yourself these questions:
- Do I feel comfortable completing legal forms myself or would I rather have a service that does that part for me?
- Do I want an attorney to look over my paperwork before I file it?
- Do I want to have the ability to pay an additional amount to talk to a lawyer?
- Am I in a hurry or do I plan to take some time to work through the process?
- Do I need help negotiating with my spouse or are we in agreement?
Once you understand what your needs and preferences are you can look to the services that meet them and compare their ratings and prices to determine what is best for you.
Essential Services
If you choose to use an online divorce service, you want to be able to access state-specific forms that you will be able to file with your court. That is the bare minimum of what you should be looking for.
Access to attorneys, mediation or negotiation services and articles with information about the divorce process are nice to have, but not essential.
Court Acceptance Guarantee
When you pay for an online divorce service, you want to be sure that the forms it generates will be accepted by your court and if they aren’t that the site will either give you your money back or fix the errors.
Online Divorce Pricing & Fees
No matter how you cut it, online divorce services are a massive cost savings compared to the thousands of dollars you could spend with an attorney. Plan to spend at least $137 for an online divorce service and more if you want any extras at all. Additional services could include speaking with an attorney and paying to have your forms printed and mailed to you.
You can reduce your costs by printing the forms yourself. You can save even more if you skip using an online divorce service completely and just obtain the forms from your state, but you won’t get any guidance as to how to complete them.
The more you pay, the more you get with online divorce services. If you want a lawyer to review your documents or you want to talk to an attorney, you’ll pay more but will gain the peace of mind that a legal review can provide.
How to Prepare for a Divorce
Divorce is a very emotional process, but the court process is focused on financial matters. To prepare for your divorce you should do the following:
- Be sure you really want a divorce
- Talk with your spouse to determine if you can agree on a settlement
- Gather documentation including tax returns, pay stubs, bank records, credit card statements, investments, mortgage or lease, debts and more
- Determine if you want to file for divorce yourself (with or without an online divorce service) or hire an attorney
- Get basic information about the divorce requirements in your state and whether you qualify
- Decide if you want to use an attorney, a mediator, an online service or handle everything on your own
Divorce is an important decision and it is a complex process that impacts your financial stability and parenting rights for years to come. Be certain before you make any decisions.
When Should You Get An Attorney?
Online divorce services are designed to be used only in an uncontested divorce. If you and your spouse have few assets and debts, have no kids or completely agree about custody and have reached a settlement, filing for the divorce is just a paperwork process. The hard parts have all been done. In this situation, an online divorce service can help you quickly and inexpensively fill out the papers and move on with your life.
If, however, you have a complex financial situation and cannot reach an agreement with your spouse about all of the other issues involved in the divorce, hiring an attorney will ensure you protect your rights and get the best possible outcome in your case.
If you feel you don’t understand the divorce process, are unsure what you are entitled to, believe your spouse is hiding assets or domestic abuse is an issue, an attorney can help you understand your rights and make the best decisions for your circumstances.
If you want an annulment, you cannot get a divorce with an online divorce service and need to talk to an attorney.
The bottom line is that an online divorce service is great if you know exactly what you want, have nothing in dispute and just need to get the papers filed. If you have any complicating factors at all, it makes sense to at least talk to an attorney to understand your options.
