Florida Divorce

In recent years, the number of divorces seen nation-wide
has increased dramatically. Currently, there is a 40%
chance that a person's first marriage will end in divorce.
The number does not get better for subsequent attempts with
60% of second marriages ending in divorce and 75% of third
marriages ending. With the rise in these costs, there was a
trend in Florida for people to represent themselves in
their divorce proceedings.

Pro se litigants, Latin meaning "for himself, in his own
behalf, in person," means that a person does not hire a
lawyer to represent him in a civil or criminal matter. In
divorce, this is a risky option because divorce laws are so
complicated and the battles can take months. Does an
individual really have the time to think about this stuff
for months on end if they are also trying to work at the
same time? I think not. The main reason that people are
representing themselves in divorce proceedings is that they
cannot afford the legal representation. Many people can not
afford to hire a lawyer but do not qualify for free or pro
bono representation. Other people that are conducting their
own divorce proceedings can hire a lawyer but choose not to
do so.

This trend has prompted the Florida legislature to change
the laws concerning divorce attorneys. It used to be that
all of an attorney's services for a divorce were bundled
into one (expensive) package. It did not matter how simple
your divorce was going to be, you got all of the available
services. Attorneys present at hearings and negotiations,
beautifully drafter separation agreements. You name it, you
got it. This method, however, made divorce attorneys
extremely expensive. Under the new laws, attorneys can
unbundle their services. This allows for an A La Carte menu
of services from which prospective clients can choose to
order. A person can choose to have an attorney draft a
separation agreement but not be present for an uncontested
divorce hearing. This has made the services of attorney's
much more affordable. In addition, it allows the legal
climate to be more "user friendly".

Unfortunately, alimony hearings are still quite complicated
and inconsistent. As it stands now, one never knows quite
what will happen in an alimony hearing. The three main
variables are the judge, the county, and the individual
case. So basically, a person never knows what to expect. A
solution to this problem would be to have a point system in
place. Points would be assigned for various factors such as
length of the marriage and standard of living during the
marriage and then added up. The total number of points
would be easily translated to a monetary amount of alimony.
The judge would not have to agree in whole to this number,
but it could at least serve as a starting point. This would
give the alimony process the same level of stability and
predictability that the child support process already has.

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Joe Devine
For more information, visit http://www.kleinattorneys.com/