Doing Your Own Divorce: Finding Papers Online For Free

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It's estimated that up to 40% of all marriages in the United States end in divorce. While this is an unhappy situation for many couples, it can also be an expensive one. If legal representation is used, the costs can quickly become a financial burden. There are ways, however, to keep costs to a minimum by filing a pro se (self-represented) divorce.

In filing a pro se divorce, there are no attorneys involved. The couples each represent themselves, must have no disagreements over property or asset division and must be able to work together in a civil manner. It's an emotional process and if you don't feel you or your spouse can keep your emotions under control and make well thought decisions that are going to affect you for a very long time, then it's best to seek legal representation.

While there are sites online that offer divorce forms for a fee, it is also possible to obtain the same papers online for free. Almost every state court website offers forms online and a search of your state's site will offer not only pro se divorce forms, but many other types of forms as well.

Start by searching for your state's court website. In any search engine, type "pro se divorce" along with the state you are filing your divorce in, and the word "court." The state site you're looking for will have .gov behind it. You'll be able to access your state's court website from that search.

On each state's court site look for a forms search button. Click on the link and you'll be taken to the area with accessible forms. Most forms can be downloaded in PDF format. If you can't determine which forms you will need to download, a call to the Clerk of Court in the country where you will be filing your divorce will get answers to general questions. They cannot, however, offer any legal advice.

If you're not successful in finding your state's court website through a Google search, the National Center for State Courts website (www.ncsc.org) has links for each state's court website. You'll find the link for Court Sites under the Most Popular Search category on the right lower side of the home page.

It is possible at any time during the divorce process, if you find it is too hard emotionally to handle your own divorce, to hire an attorney to represent you. It will not undo the initial filing of the divorce papers with the court, but may delay the process as additional forms need to be filed making the court aware one or both of you now have representation.