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http://bakkenorman.com Gary Bakke, Attorney

Should You Seek Legal Advice During a Divorce in Wisconsin? Are you considering representing yourself without a lawyer?

Today I want to talk about some things to think about if you are considering representing yourself, without a lawyer, in a divorce case. The legal system refers to this as "PRO SE"

Many people have done so successfully and you may be able to do so too. But, there have been many disasters where people have ended up with significant problems that could have been avoided if they had been competently represented.

Cost
Obviously, the cost of a lawyer is one of your concerns. Legal representation can be expensive and even a simple divorce is frequently a few thousand dollars and this cost comes at a very difficult time in your life.

Control
Another reason some divorcing parties choose to represent themselves, without a lawyer is that they don't want to relinquish control of this process.

That is probably not a good reason to go it alone. You and your lawyer should be able to discuss and decide on an effective approach that you are comfortable with. When litigants feel that the process has spun out of control, it is usually because of the strategy and tactics being employed by the other side. You, or you and your lawyer, will have to respond to the other side, whether you think their approach is appropriate or not.

You have almost no control about how the other side approaches the case but you, and your lawyer, have total control of how you respond.

Who should consider it?
So lets consider the situations where it is appropriate to attempt to represent yourself.
You should be intelligent and capable of reading and understanding legal documents
The issues are frequently more simple for Short marriages-less than 5 years
No children
No real estate
No retirement funds
No business interests
No history of spousal physical or emotional abuse or threats
No special needs, disabilities

Who should not consider it
If there are threats, either physical or financial.
"I won't contest child custody if you don't ask for child support."
"If you don't agree, I'm going to expose your past."
"If you do that, you are going to be very sorry."
If there is a business involved. Valuing a business can be a sophisticated process.

If there are significant pension, profit sharing, 401(k) or other retirement funds. Again, valuing them can be difficult and dividing them requires some vey specific, technical documents.

If there are disputes relating to custody of children or child support.

There is help available to draft the necessary documents and to work through the process. But it is important to remember that this is just technical help and is not legal advice to protect your interests.