Divorce Made Simple?

Over 15 years of being a divorce attorney, I helped a lot of people through the divorce process.  If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it is that divorce is tough.

Divorce is tough because it is an emotional process. Most people don't arrive at the decision to divorce quickly or easily. By the time you schedule a consultation with an attorney or begin to fill out papers online, you have already experienced a lot of emotional and psychological distress. There is a reason why divorce is compared to death; it is life-altering.  The sad fact is, the legal system usually contributes to the emotional trauma of divorce, it does not lessen it. 

Divorce is also tough because it can be a financially draining process. If you are lucky enough that you and your ex can agree on the terms of your divorce, divorce can cost a few hundred dollars in court filing fees. If you have to hire an attorney, you'll be lucky enough to get your divorce finalized for less than $1,000, with most divorces costing about $13,200.  If you can agree on issues like custody, alimony, or property division, you'll be looking at least $18,200.  If you go to trial or have high dollar assets, your divorce will likely cost even more. And that is just your costs, not what your ex will have to pay. 

Do you or your ex have $25,000 to spend on a divorce? And even you do have the money, is that how you want to spend your hard-earned money?

If you are considering representing yourself in your divorce, you are not alone.  Utah's top judges have acknowledged that the legal system isn't working right for most people and have even announced efforts to improve it.  

As someone who went to Court for people, again and again, I can tell you that the legal system is not built to help you through a divorce. It’s a complicated system of rules and procedures you won't be familiar with, it takes a long time to get a decision, and it is not designed to help people with family law cases. 

If two business partners can no longer agree on how to run a business, and can’t agree on how to split the business they can get a judge to decide. After a judge rules on how to dissolve the business and split the assets, the partners can go their separate ways. Someone wins and someone loses. The former partners will likely never do business together ever again.  

If two parents decide to get a divorce and can’t agree on how custody should be divided, they can get a judge to decide. But after the judge rules on how custody should be divided the parents have to go back to communicating and making decisions regarding their children. The court doesn’t teach them how. If anything, paying thousands of dollars to attorneys and going through a stressful court hearing only heightens emotions and makes retribution and additional court hearings more likely, not less. The court system is not really equipped to help parents learn how to deal with conflict and make joint decisions.

My goal in creating Utah Divorce Made Easy is to make the process of divorce less difficult. Here’s what my top three goals are:

1. Help you determine what parts of the divorce process you can and should handle yourself. 
2. Provide you with information regarding cost-effective alternatives to going to court and why they work.
3. Summarize key laws and cases, in a clear and easy to understand way, that may impact your divorce case and why you should know about them. 

Yes, divorce is tough but with the right information and tools, it can be easier.