Looking back over the legal process of my divorce, I have to say that I could have made better use of the resources available online. Several years before I began to seriously consider divorce, I had read a couple of books on the subject and after I had told my husband I was thinking about divorce, I did consult with an attorney to find out what where I would likely stand on a number of issues. I didn’t do much of my own research and I’m not sure why not. Maybe I was just so overwhelmed, emotional and saddened that I preferred the in-person contact with my attorney.
Regardless, for anyone thinking about ending their marriage I would recommend that they get online and start reading about the issues and finding out as much information that is relevant to their situation as possible. Doing the research online might also be the answer if you’ve not yet told your spouse you’re thinking of divorce and you don’t want him or her to find any divorce related materials. Just remember to clear your browsing history!
One site that I think would be helpful is Divorce.com. There’s what looks like a pretty comprehensive section on Divorce Help, neatly organized for before, during and after. There’s also a Questions and Answers section which although state specific and situation specific, could give you some insight into issues that are similar to yours. Recent questions posted include: How can I find out if my x has filed for divorce? How do I know if I qualify for alimony? I’ve been separated for about 7 years. Do I have to wait a year before I start a divorce? And if you don’t find what you’re looking for you can pose a question to Divorce.com‘s resident expert. Obviously, their expert isn’t the only person you should ask, but it’s a good way to get started on an issue or to get a second opinion.
There’s also a divorce blog with postings on legal questions such as who gets to keep the house when no one can afford it or the lowdown on no-fault divorce. There are also informative postings on current trends like is this recession the right time to be filing for divorce. I would like to see a byline for these postings – I guess that’s the journalist in me but I think it would add to the credibility of material. I did add the Divorce.com blog section to my blogroll for interest but I had trouble adding it to my Google reader – not sure if it was my error or a problem with their feed.
If you’ve been through divorce then all the legal jargon can be overwhelming and confusing so Divorce.com has a helpful dictionary. There’s an attorney finder – I expect Divorce.com is paid for any referrals. I might use such a finder to identify potential lawyers but then I would start asking friends or other professional advisers for a referral. I got my attorney through my CPA and it was a great referral.
I didn’t see a general search option – after Kathleen Christensen’s praises for a collaborative divorce I wanted to see what was on the site for that. We all know that a website is never finished so hopefully they’ll add a search button soon.