DISCLAIMER The comments on this blog are the opinions of the blogger based on personal experience as a defendant in a divorce case. Please note that the information here does not constitute legal advice. I am not a lawyer. It is strongly recommended that you hire a family law attorney, licensed to practice in your state, to represent you and to help guide you through the complicated process of divorce.
As the old proverb says, any man who is his own lawyer has a fool for a client. These wise words ring in my head every day as I struggle to handle a mountain of paperwork and try to understand the law. You see, I am a pro se litigant in a divorce case.
Pro Se (pronounced pro-say) is a Latin term meaning for self, and there are two main types of litigant - the plaintiff and the defendant. If you file for divorce, you are the plaintiff. If your spouse files for divorce, you are the defendant. A plaintiff who self-represents is known as a pro se plaintiff, whereas a defendant is a pro se defendant.
This blogger is a pro se defendant, and I strongly recommend that you hire a lawyer to defend you. A family law attorney, licensed to practice in your state, knows the law and can represent you more effectively than you can represent yourself.
If, however, for some reason, you find yourself unable to hire a lawyer, please know that you are not alone. The unfortunate reality is that an increasing number of us are finding ourselves in the same position.
In my own search for help, I found some great resources for plaintiffs, but not so many for defendants. So, I created this blog to fill that void with whatever I learn about the divorce procedures for a defendant. Whether you are a defendant or a plaintiff and have legal representation or not, I hope the information here will help you in some way.
First, before you decide to go it alone, there are other options you might want to explore. Before I ended up as a pro se litigant, I searched for help here in New Jersey. I attended a workshop, met with an attorney for a free consultation, went through the process of mediation, and checked into free legal assistance. Later I found out about another option known as ghostwriting. The links below will take you to blog posts on what I learned:
Option #1 - Mediation
Option #2 - Legal Services of New Jersey
Option #3 - Consultants and Ghostwriters
Option #4 - Free Consultations, Workshops, and Seminars
Chances are, you're already familiar with the four ideas listed above. If you're not, I strongly encourage you to look into them. In the meantime, you're welcome to follow along as I proceed with the absolute last resort, which is self-representation. I am not qualified to offer legal advice to you, but I can tell you about my own experience at each step along the way:
Self-Representation (The Last Resort)
There are many ways to find information on this blog:
- Use the sidebar to find blog posts.
- Use the navigation bar along the top to find special pages.
- Use the labels at the bottom to find posts with that information.
- And, finally, each blog post will help to guide you along.
Good luck with your case!
