Divorce - Pro Se Litigants 3 Major Errors

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For those contemplating divorce, before jumping into the lion's den proceed with caution.  If your divorce is contested and includes children you want to take some time doing a little investigative research.

The three errors that will darn sure get you in hot water.
1.  Wrong divorce forms are used
2.  Failure to complete or fill out divorce forms correctly
3.  Assuming that the divorce judge is a mind reader and capable of filling in the missing puzzles.

Many times anger and emotion dictates one's action and that can be the very reason that the family law judge passes down an unfavorable decision. The States vary in their family law rules and jumping online and grabbing the wrong divorce forms can be disastrous. Many online sites think one shoe fits all and shoots you the wrong divorce forms for your State.

Assuming you have the correct divorce forms, do you know how to ask for temporary orders during the interim before the divorce is final?  Do you know how to fill out interrogatories?  Do you know the Statute of Limitations in your State?  Do you know how to serve your soon to be ex with divorce papers?  Failure to do any of the above correctly will either get your case kicked out of court or may result in very unfavorable decisions by the divorce judge.

The divorce judge isn't a mind reader, nor does he or she have the time to try to find all of the missing pieces to your divorce puzzle. Have you created a strong divorce case for the court and eliminated the "He said, She said" testimony?

Here's an idea that will save you heartache, confusion and give you a road map for filing divorce papers.  I'm using Arizona as an example. Put Az.gov in the browser, which pulls up the home site then put family law in the search box which takes you to a site that offers the Arizona Family Law information.  At this point search for divorce and read everything before downloading any divorce forms.

All State Governments offer similar information and this is probably the most reliable source if filing for divorce without legal counsel. If you are representing yourself (pro se), this is time well spent. I have written articles on the major errors of those contemplating divorce a jillion times, but almost 75% of pro se litigants are still losing their in court, because they didn't know courtroom protocol or family law rules in their State.

It's so unfair to see so many articles that actually aren't enabling the pro se litigants - so many times these articles actually demoralize, pitty and give the pro se litigant excuses for their struggles in the courtroom. Not taking the time to learn your State Laws or learn the correct way to fill out divorce forms is a feeble excuse - you have the right to represent yourself, but you also have the responsibility of learning how to do this correctly.

This article wasn't written to be brutal or beat up pro se litigants, but it's about being responsible, engaged and equipping oneself with the information that is available. All States have workshops and venues established to help the pro se litigants and all State Governments offer information on family law and divorce.

As Always,
Little Tboca