War on Divorce

Practical Divorce advice: How the hell do I start over?

I am in the air about how to literaly go about leaving my husband and starting over in a new city (I have been suffocated by my current home for years-- this town is too small for the both of us!). I mean, how much money will i need to even TALK to a lawyer? We dont have kids, but we have 2 cats, one pregnant. I'd like to keep them both + offspring , does a normal divorce case even handle animals? I have no hangup s about my stuff. He can keep everything we bought together. I just want what I came with and neither of us has lots of money to fight over so thats that. Do i even NEED a lawyer? Can I move before the divorce is final and do the paperwork by mail? Is it rude to send out a divorce announcement? (Just kidding, kind of.) Is there someone who will just talk to me about it? How was your divorce?

Public Comments

1. divorce sux just serve him and leace him and go from there. Don't move b4 it could cause a big headache
2. You should have an attorney so you don't get stuck with bills or paying alimony or something. The only thing you can be sure of is that nothing is sure; protect yourself.
3. you need to stay in the same county till the divorce is final. having a lawyer on your side is in your best interest.
4. You should see a lawyer. There is usually a free consulation. Write a list of questions. If there's little to fight over, it shouldn't cost much. But most want at least a $1000 retainer. Yes you can negoiate the cats in the settlement. Just remember the more the attorneys do, the more it will cost you. Good luck
5. I would discuss it with your husband first. (once you involve a lawyer things have a way of getting complicated-you will need one eventually, however). I would try to get as much settled with the hubby before going to a lawyer. Try not to give the lawyer a reason to drag the thing out. They love and profit from conflict. And you pay.
6. Unless your cats are a rare priceless breed,you should have no problem keeping them. You should take care of the divorce before leaving so then you can leave clean and no strings to bring you back to hell. You can alwys hire a Paralegal to do all your paperwork and save alot of money as the Paralegal actually does all the attorneys legwork anyway so he/she knows the laws and if your husband is still civil after being served thatll help tremendously and that will save time and money. Good luck
7. Some states offer online divorce filing. You just fill in the information, it fills out the papers for you, and you take them to the court house, pay the filing fee, and batah boom, batah bing....you're done. (As long as you both sign and agree on everything) Since you don't really have children, and you're not interested in the property, You could save both yourselves a lot of money and agony filing yourselves if your state allows it. Animals are "possessions" that yes, could be put in divorce papers. Just keep in mind, that whatever you do now you cannot undo, so if you're walking away, letting him have it all, then you can't go back and get anything later. Not a wise move in my opinion. Take your half....this was hell enough to just go with nothing. You're going to struggle getting started, so why should he live all cushy? You shouldn't leave until your papers are at least filed with the court...then you're good. You can get a "free consultation" with most lawyers. Try www.justask.com You can get one free question there. Also, try www.allexperts.com, and look for lawyers. Free questions there too. Good luck with everything. You can message me whenever you like...been there, done that. :)
8. Good Luck- I wish you tthe best-I have been there and done that. Contact a lawyer for a free consultation, if you guys are in agreement on things then it should go well and cheaply, but if he wants to contest the divorce and cause problems it could get costly. Its best you do it now before children were brought into the picture. Good Luck
9. Sorry to hear you are facing this. It won't be an easy journey. Yes, you can fight for custody for the cats. I would suggest you to look into Legal Aid. You might even qualify for free services. Here are a couple of links for you to look at. http://www.ptla.org/links/services.htm http://www.lsc.gov/about/grantee_links.php Hang in there. Best wishes for you.
10. If there's no money or property to divide, you could actually handle the divorce yourself. Whichever state you live in should have a superior court website, log-on and follow the links.
11. The court houses have someone that will offer free advise, get in contact with them. If you guys agree on who gets what then you don't necessarily need a lawyer. I didn't use one and went down to the book store and did it myself. As far as pets go yes they have a spot for that in the divorce papers. Moving will be hard to do if you do it by yourself as there are alot of paperwork you need to keep dropping off at the court house. Talk to the free counsel is your best bet
12. Dear friend, I would suggest you to take advice from a good lawyer. I was also in an almost same situation as you are in. I got my problem solved with the help of usalegalcare.com. They offer good legal services. Just go to http://www.usalegalcare.com/ , fill their easy form and they will contact you very soon. Good luck
13. Take advantage of legal resources where you don't need an attorney and price you would pay is far less then hiring an attorney.