Self-represented Divorce a Middle Class Phenomenon

Divorce is a very stressful event in most people’s lives. It can also be a very costly event. Most people who pay thousands and sometimes tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars look back on their experience with some misgivings. Did they get what they wanted? Did they pay too much? Unfortunately, the majority of people feel they paid too much and got too little.

California is a very progressive state when it comes to divorce. For one thing, California is a ‘no fault’ state. This means that fault does not have to be proven to initiate a divorce—i.e. if one person wants a divorce, he/she does not have to prove that wrong doing has occurred and he/she can simply file for divorce (& state 'irreconcilable differences') and serve the other party. In addition, California is very progressive when it comes to self-representation. California supports ‘in pro per’ which means that a person could represent him or herself in a divorce proceeding.

The current US divorce rate is approximately 50% of marriages. That is, about 1 in 2 marriages can be expected to end in divorce proceedings. Approximately 60% of the American population is married, and as many as half of these marriages will last at least 15 years. The median length of a marriage that ends in divorce in the United States is a little under 8 years. It is estimated that on average, it takes a full year between divorce proceedings beginning and the court granting the petition. Approximately 20 million Americans are currently divorced.

(from www.divorceguide.com)

Due to California’s laws, one might think that it is easy to get a divorce. Many people try to do the paperwork themselves or go to a document service for the paperwork. This can be a mistake, as many find that the paperwork is difficult to fill out and they are unsure of the meanings of legal terms. Further, once paperwork is filled out, there are different steps that have to happen in order to finalize the divorce. In addition, many people have issues such as debt, assets, children etc. which need to be addressed or a court appearance will be necessary.

No one would doubt that self-representation or ‘in pro per’ divorces are on the rise. In California, 80 to 90% of the litigants are representing themselves. In fact, Sue Talia, a judge from Danville, California states:

“It’s not just that poor people can’t afford lawyers. This is really a middle-class phenomenon.”

(from: ‘More Americans Serving as their own lawyers’, Press Writer Margery A. Gibbs, Associated Press Writer—Nov. 24, 2008)

What people seem to crave is a hybrid system—one that allows them to pay low flat fees while at the same time get attorney oversight. If attorneys do not begin to address the needs of this market, our court system will continue to be overrun with people who don’t know the rules and are bound to be dissatisfied with the outcome of their case.