Needing a Paralegal to help with DIY Divorce (how much, lawyer)

[kittyskid]

Hi All,
I am looking for a Paralegal to help me complete all of the paperwork for my Divorce - Child Custody/Visitation/Support. My soon to be ex wife & I have agreed on all matters. We both have no money to pay an attorney, so I thought I'd search for a paralegal who, for a reasonable fee, would help me wade through the process.

The wife lives in Savannah and I'll be driving down there for her to have her paperwork signed/notorized, etc so that I can bring it to Mecklenburg Court, pay the fees & file everything myself.

I am wanting to get this done asap as we've been separated over 2 years, and we both want to get on with our lives.

I can be reached at kittyskid@gmail.com

Thanks a Bunch!
Richard

[chicagocubs]

It's actually illegal for a paralegal to do that. It would be construed as practicing law, which a paralegal cannot do.

You can do it on your own all you want....but, unless you get an attorney, you may have difficulty getting it finalized

sorry.

[lovesMountains]

Originally Posted by chicagocubs

It's actually illegal for a paralegal to do that. It would be construed as practicing law, which a paralegal cannot do.

You can do it on your own all you want....but, unless you get an attorney, you may have difficulty getting it finalized

sorry.

It really is very easy to file for divorce yourself in Mecklenburg county - you don't have to have a lawyer at all.

HOWEVER, I sincerely encourage anyone thinking of doing this by themselves, NO MATTER HOW BROKE YOU THINK YOU ARE, if you share an underage child, get a lawyer. I cannot stress this strongly enough. You may be broke now, but in the future this could cost you more than you can imagine.

If you don't have a lawyer and you later have "issues" with your ex (which 99% of people do, even when they swear they'll work together in the beginning) you are up a creek without any paddles. You cannot go back to court to get child support amended or increased (or decreased) and if your ex suddenly doesn't play by the rules you think you've got established now you have absolutely no recourse. If however from the beginning you've had a lawyer the chances of ever needing to go back won't be nearly as high.

Trust me, you want to protect yourself and your future by having a lawyer do this now.

[GirlTravels]

Ditto Loves and chicago cubs.

You can represent yourself. If anyone who is not a lawyer represents you, including a paralegal, it's the unauthorized practice of law and they cannot do it.

That said, some of the more inexpensive divorce shops have paralegals do all the work, and then a lawyer checks over the final paperwork before it is submitted. You just need to call around and ask how much for an uncontested divorce and equitable distribution.

And that said again, as the PP have said, you may win in the long run by getting real, independent legal advice, not just someone to run the papers.

[Damemeow]

Paralegals can only help you prepare the forms and notarize your signature, but they cannot offer you legal advice. So, what you would end up with is boiler plate dissolution of marriage text that you could get out of a book yourself.