LIMITED SCOPE DIVORCE REPRESENTATION

If you cannot afford an attorney, you may want to represent yourself when getting your divorce, but hire an attorney to help you.

Missouri now allows an attorney to help you at every step of the divorce proceedings, without representing you.

Sometimes compared to a cafeteria plan, this limited scope representation allows you to buy an attorney's help for only those parts of the divorce process which you feel uncomfortable doing by yoursel.  You may want to buy my help in drafting the pleadings, filing for the divorce, serving the summons, negotiating with the other side, appearing in court with you, or drafting a final settlement agreement.

All of this would be done on a "pay as you go" basis. You would not be required to buy any services that you do not want.

You benefit because you can use your litigation budget best by doing the simpler parts of the case yourself and focuse my time on the complicated tasks that you do not think you can do effectively yourself.

Remember that the I have had the education and experience to work on the more technical parts of your case, guide you throughout the court process, and spot important legal issues that you may not see on your own.  

• You can just consult a lawyer and get legal information and advice about your case when you need it

• You can hire the lawyer to represent you on certain issues in your case (such as child support and/or custody) while you do the rest yourself

• You can hire the lawyer to prepare the forms and other court documentation but file them yourself and represent yourself at the hearings

• You can hire the lawyer to coach you on how to represent yourself at the court hearings and help in the preparation of evidence that you will present in court

• You can hire the lawyer to help you with the more complicated parts of your case such as discovery and legal research while you do the simpler tasks yourself