Pro se representation has always been an option in U.S. court proceedings. Some of these DIY attorneys even manage to win their cases, but it is for good reason that most observers believe that “a man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client.”
For those who worry about making foolish legal mistakes, but don’t want to spend real money on legal services, the Internet now has your answer!
While many once-popular fly-by-night “do it yourself divorce” websites have vanished, onlinedivorce.com is still offering fire sale prices on uncontested divorces, which apparently can be bought for as little as $129, before you get to the bells and whistles and fine print.
If you and your spouse generally agree on everything, including the fact that you no longer want to be married, maybe this approach is worth a try. $129 is less than you might spend on a farewell dinner at one of China’s famous post-divorce restaurants. You can’t even get a year of Netflix for that price anymore!
To go by the testimonials on these DIY divorce websites, there has not been such a safe investment bet since Bernie Madoff’s sure thing. On the other hand, these sites are usually pretty forthright in acknowledging that their services are appropriate for only a small subset of prospective divorcees.
Beyond this obvious caveat, there is always the chance that the website programmers may not be as intimately familiar with the ins and outs of Connecticut divorce law as one would like. Family and divorce law, like every other kind of legal specialty, is in a constant state of flux. New laws replace old ones; new decisions displace longstanding precedents with some degree of unpredictability; judges come and go. The only way to stay abreast of all these changes is to have a seat at the Connecticut bar; even the best-qualified computer programmer will fall short when it comes to the matter of sensitivity to the human factor in divorce legal practice.
If you are a resident of New Haven Countyor Fairfield County or Connecticut, one of the most affluent communities in the United States, chances are that your divorce may involve considerable financial stakes. Relying on Watson, Siri, Alexa or onesizefitsalldivorce.com to steer you toward an equitable and optimal solution of the issues between you and your spouse is probably a bad idea for most people in our community.
For sound legal advice available on matters of divorce and family law in Connecticut, we urge you to visit the offices of Hirsch Legal LLC in Shelton. We are more expensive than Netflix, but we stand behind our work and make sure that we provide good value to our clients. Our principal attorney, Carmina Hirsch, has long been recognized as one of the most distinguished and well respected attorneys in her field; you can have no better advocate if you want to file or defend against a divorce suit. We serve clients in New Haven County and throughout Fairfield County, including the vibrant communities of Danbury, Westport, Stamford, Bridgeport, Milford and Waterbury.