The Gray Divorce Podcast: Episode 26 The Perils of DIY Divorce with Attorney Philip Spradling
In Episode 25 of The Gray Divorce Podcast, I welcome Attorney Philip Spradling. Philip practices law in the state of Nevada and is the founder of the Las Vegas Divorce and Custody Center. His firm works only as a neutral to give people the legal information, advice and assistance they need to resolve their divorce or custody matter fairly, quickly and inexpensively.
Why Do Some People Choose Not To Use An Attorney?
Cost – People know that long, drawn out litigated cases can be very expensive and cost in the 10s of thousands of dollars. But there are several alternatives to this that are a lot less expensive. Alternatives that are can give you the advice you need at a much lower cost than you might think.
Don’t Think It’s Important – People underestimate the importance of divorce paperwork. These documents are binding. And they have a huge implication on your life going forward.
They Trust Their Spouse – A lot of people simply trust what their spouse tells them. And they end up getting burned. Particularly in cases where one spouse has always managed the finances and the other has been in the dark.
What Are Common Errors People Without Attorneys Make?
One of the most common mistakes that almost everybody makes when they don't have an attorney is that they fail to properly notice their decree of divorce. Even after the divorce decree has been signed by the judge and has been filed it needs to be noticed. This is an actual step that is often omitted and it's an important step. A lot of deadlines start with the noticing of the decree of divorce.
Why Should People Have an Attorney?
Uncontested Divorce - if you don't have legal counsel, it's much easier to set aside the divorce later on. One spouse might argue “I didn't understand what I was doing”. For this reason, a spouse should want the other party to have legal counsel so it can't be set aside down the road.
Contested Divorce – Here, the parties simply don't understand what's important to argue before a judge. They make the mistake of telling the judge a lot of awful things about their spouse which really have no impact as Nevada is a no-fault divorce state. They are too focused on venting.
Another key problem with not having an attorney is that one spouse can be taken advantage of by the other who may have more knowledge or simply have power over the other person emotionally.
Resources
Contact Philip at the Las Vegas Divorce and Custody Center