DIY Divorces
We all know by now that people can buy divorce online and get on with the process by mail ordered packages. Now that this is the case, apart from celebrities and the very rich, why does anyone else still need to go to a lawyer? However, there will always be a need because divorce concerns human beings and they have never been able to stay within foreseen paradigms only.
So what is DIY divorce and why is everyone talking about it? DIY, in this sense, means Do It Yourself, just like baking a cake or putting together a three-legged stool. The only difference is that DIY only gets you the ingredients, but it does not do the cooking for you. The DIY pack contains all the forms needed to fill up at various stages of the divorce, instructions on how to fill up the forms, and a more general guidebook. So one can only do these things by oneself, but there is still the part about submitting the forms and following the legal procedure till the end of that painful and long drawn-out chapter.
An important distinction needs to be made here -- online and managed divorces are different from DIY divorces. In DIY, you are the only one who can steer the course of a divorce and get it done as slowly or as speedily as one wants.
DIY Who is it for?
As the above makes it clear, DIY is only for some cases where it applies.
There are couples who really do not have a dueling pairs relation with each other. They can still manage to agree on issues like child custody or finance management. Property matters can also be resolved amicably between them. DIY is the best for them, and they can save huge amounts of money, a lot of time, and all those hassles that accompany a contested divorce.
The whole point of Do It Yourself is that you have already decided as to what you want and how you want it. If the grounds of conflict have already been resolved among the partners, the court does not need to solve a dispute. These are the ideal DIY couples as we see in the ads two quiet and serious-looking people who get over the parting without fire and smoke. Their population is growing as UK couples are waking up to the fact that they can get divorced in the peace and quiet of their home and computers.
DIY is a solution for those who are financially not too strong. Almost all people who have been through a separation will agree that it is a financial strain. DIY gives you the chance to make your own budget. For those who need Legal Aid, this can probably be the fastest and least costly solution.
You dont want to waste more time on getting the divorce. Making a living is not easy in the country, and people have to take very long working hours to earn their daily bread. It is just not possible to let a messy and long legal process jeopardize your entire career and take up all the time. This has nothing to do with being selfish and insensitive; most people who opt for DIY want to save time out of a sheer need to survive in a competitive and cruel world.
DIY is a good idea for those who want some privacy and dignity in their lives. You can keep things quiet; in fact, there is no need for anyone else to know about it unless you tell them.
Pros and Cons of DIY Divorce
Imagine this situation an advisor asks you, Ok, so all of you who want a messy, costly, painful divorce raise your hands. No prizes for guessing that no hands will go up. The problem with divorce is that none of us wanted it in the first place.
Problem two is that costs are to be judged by relative values for legal procedures. When you are going for a divorce, you are about to change your whole life forever. So a penny saved today in leaving things half-baked, will cost you a hefty pound tomorrow. On the other hand, if you end up splurging on the divorce case, and then file for bankruptcy, it will not be a very sunny day.
DIY and high-street firms are the extreme ends of the divorce scale of the UK, and both are indispensable as solutions. Our needs and problems are individual as human beings, so the divorce package that we choose for ourselves will depend on our individual situations. So the advantage or the disadvantage will depend on our situation.
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