Florida DIY Divorce Forms

Florida’s DIY divorce forms on the Florida Courts website.  Like most states, Florida has many divorce forms available on the web.  This page will help you figure out which forms you will need for your particular situation.

The Florida Courts website first wants you to read the Getting Started page.  If you read this whole page, and read all the things they tell you to read on the page, you will almost certainly give up on your DIY divorce.

You will either hire a lawyer, or you will put off getting a divorce for a while longer, until you decide you can afford a divorce lawyer. You may also just wait for your husband  or wife to file for divorce, and then hope for the best.

First things first – Residency requirement for filing for divorce in Florida

Before you even try to file your own divorce, you must make sure that you meet the residency requirement.  You will have to prove to the court that you (or your wife/husband) has lived in Florida for more than 6 months before filing for divorce. Residence can be proved with a valid Florida driver’s license, Florida identification card, or voter registration card issued to one of you at least 6 months prior to filing.  There are other ways to do it too, but if you need those things, you should probably hire a lawyer.

Which divorce forms should you use to file for divorce in Florida?

There are different forms for different situations.

Simplified Dissolution of Marriage

You can use these forms if:

  • You and your spouse agree that the marriage cannot be saved.
  • You and your spouse have no minor or dependent child(ren) together,
  • The wife does not have any minor or dependent children born during the marriage, and the wife is not now pregnant.
  • You and your spouse agree on how the two of you will divide your things, and who will pay what debts that you you owe.
  • Neither of you wants alimony
  • You are willing to give up your right to trial and appeal.
  • You and your spouse are both willing to go into the clerk’s office to sign the petition (not necessarily together), and
  • You and your spouse are both willing to go to the final hearing at the same time.

If you answered yes to all of the above, then you need the following forms:

  1. Petition For Simplified Dissolution Of Marriage
  2. Marital Settlement Agreement for Simplified Dissolution of Marriage

If you and your husband/wife do not agree on all these things, then you can still find all the forms here, but things will get complicated.  Furthermore, if you and your spouse don’t agree on everything, and you have minor children, or handicapped children, then you really should get yourself an attorney.

If you do not think you can afford an attorney, then you should look for legal aid organizations here.

Here are some books about Florida divorce:

 

Colorado DIY Divorce Forms

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The State of Colorado court system provides extensive resources for people who would like to get a do it yourself divorce.

Colorado 3 centThe Judicial Branch has created pro se forms for people who would like to get a divorce without a lawyer.  The forms are organized for divorcing couples without children and divorcing couples with children.

 

The divorce forms packets contain:

  • useful flow charts for a visual overview of the process
  • step by step instructions for filing the divorce proceeding
  • detailed instructions for completing each form

The divorce forms are provided in Word format for people who want to complete them on their computer, or in PDF format for people that just want to print the forms and complete them by hand.

Click on the links below to access your free Colorado divorce papers:

Colorado Divorce with NO Children

Colorado Divorce With Children

The Judicial Branch’s self help center has also has some additional information on divorce, and one of the most helpful documents contains answers to Frequently Asked Questions, and useful links.  You can view that document by clicking here.

All in all, the people of Colorado are quite fortunate to have access to quality, free divorce forms.  However, they can also complete their divorce without a lawyer by using one of the paid forms providers, such as:

Rocket Lawyer

Legal Zoom

 

 







Wyoming DIY Divorce Forms

Wyoming Court Provided Divorce Forms wyoming diy divorce

The Wyoming Supreme Court has developed a set of forms for people that would like to do a DIY divorce.  There are four sets of free divorce forms:

When you embark on your DIY divorce journey in Wyoming, but feel that you need additional help, you may wish to contact a Wyoming divorce lawyer, or visit www.wyomingdivorce.org.

Utah DIY Divorce Forms

The State of Utah provides a great deal of information for people who would like a Utah DIY divorce. An overview of the whole process can be found here.

Utah DIY divorceUtah DIY Divorce Help Online

The Utah Online Court Assistance Program (OCAP) is a service of the Utah Courts and the State Legislature.  It is the official State of Utah website for assistance in preparing court documents for people who cannot hire a lawyer to draft them.

The OCAP helps people prepare documents for a Utah divorce, (as well as other cases). Any person can use these programs and forms for  free.  However, if you file the forms created by this program, the Court will charge you a $20.00 fee in addition to the court filing fees.

Nonetheless, the $20.00 is a super duper bargain when you compare it to the $150 to $250 (or even more) that a Utah divorce lawyer would (and does) cost you per hour.

It is important to remember that if you use this service, you are still representing yourself.  The OCAP is not your lawyer, and just because you use the OCAP service, you will not receive any sort of special treatment.

You will still be considered to be acting as your own attorney.  Choosing to represent yourself is an important decision.  It is a decision that should be considered carefully.

DIY Divorce Forms

Hey, lots of people would like to do their own divorce. Divorce is expensive enough as it is. It gets much more expensive when you have to hire a lawyer. A DIY divorce just might be the answer for those couples that know that they need to end their marriage, but do not want (or cannot afford) to spend thousands of dollars on a divorce lawyer.

State specific divorce forms

Fortunately, most states realize that many of their citizens need a divorce, but for some reason are unable or unwilling to hire a divorce lawyer. These states have developed, and provided, self help divorce forms. These forms may be, in most states, downloaded from the internet, or they can be purchased from the Clerk of Court.  Almost all of them are free.

In any case, this page will provide you with links to free (or almost free) divorce forms provided by the varous States’ courts.

 

 

 

 

 

Just click on the State name above, and you will be taken to the page that lists that State’s specific DIY divorce forms.

DIY Divorce – Is it a good idea?

More and more couples find themselves strapped for cash these days and thus, unable to afford the expensive legal fees which come with filing for divorce. People are looking for a less pricey way out of their unwanted marriages. So, DIY divorce, is it a good idea?

It is possible to find the instructions as well as paperwork for a DIY divorce on the Internet for a fee considerably smaller than what one might pay for an attorney. Pro se (self-representation in court) divorces might save you money, but is it a smart move?

Let’s be honest, some divorces are easier than others and some people are capable of taking care of their own situation especially if there aren’t children involved, the couple is on good terms, and there are little assets to divide. These are the kinds of couples who could benefit from downloading forms online or running by the courthouse to collect the papers on their own. There is plenty of easily accessible “how to” literature available to the public.

DIY divorce papers

Just check the box!

So if it’s that easy then why do people bother with a lawyer at all? Custody agreements must go through the courts; therefore people with children are not able to benefit from DIY divorce proceedings. If either spouse contests the divorce, if there is extensive community property, debt or a bankruptcy on file, couples are not eligible for pro se divorces.

In addition to meeting the above qualifications, consider that the general population hasn’t been to law school and can easily make mistakes. If one makes a mistake on a legal document or proceeding, it can mean big trouble and they would have to hire an attorney to fix it in the end anyway. Another reason is, even the simplest divorce can be complicated. Attorneys study for years to learn to do these proceedings and for the average person it can be a bigger hassle than it’s worth. The other reason is, even if the couple come to an agreement and are on good terms with one another, they may find out later that they have actually given up more than they realized.

Even if a divorce seems simple, the couple is on good terms, the question is; do they have time? Time to fill out paperwork, file and mail documents, correct mistakes and re-file. Do not expect a DIY divorce to be finalized quickly. If for some reason the divorce is time sensitive, again, it is best to hire a divorce lawyer.

The bottom line is an attorney knows how to proceed, and what is legally fair, and how to get the party they represent terms they feel satisfied with. Even the seemingly simplest divorce can be more complicated than one would expect.