The divorce rate in America is 50%+, so the difficult decision to get a divorce places you within a very large group of people in this country. Florida is a no-fault state. If you are on the verge of a divorce, paying a large retainer to a Florida law firm is not required most of the time. However, trying to navigate the legal maze of the Florida court system and online divorce world on your own or hiring a non-lawyer alternative could be a disastrous and costly mistake.

Once you have made the difficult decision to get a divorce, you have options:

• Self-Help Center at your local courthouse:
Most of Florida’s 67 counties have Self-Help Centers; however Self Help Centers are run by the clerk of courts who are not family law attorneys and are not permitted to give any legal advice. In fact, it is considered the unlicensed practice of law and is a crime for anyone other than a lawyer to give legal advice. The clerks will sell you a package of documents and help you fill in the blanks. The same package of divorce forms you purchase from a self help center can be found online for FREE.

• Do it yourself (pro se’):
You can attempt to prepare all required legal documents yourself. However, BEWARE as you run the risk of doing the paperwork incorrectly, becoming confused by the mass of legal forms, missing time sensitive deadlines and maybe even missing a necessary document which will most assuredly cause delay. In some counties, your case will be assigned to the pro se’ judge who handles only folks who are attempting to do it themselves. Legal Aid may be an option depending on your income level.

• Paralegal or Document Preparation Service:
A paralegal (a person who works for a lawyer) or document preparation service might eliminate some of the concerns listed above; however paralegals are not family lawyers. When questions arise (which you can expect at some level) or you reach an impasse and a court hearing is required, paralegals are specifically prohibited from providing legal advice and cannot make court appearances. The bottom line is that your divorce should be handled by a divorce attorney – plain and simple.

• Retain an Attorney:
Retainer fees can be very expensive and, in our humble opinion, not necessary most of the time. An initial consultation may be anywhere from $200 - $500 per hour just to talk. If you’ve got money to burn or simply want to extract a pound of flesh from your spouse, the initial retainer fee may be anywhere from $1,500.00 - $15,000.00.

DivorceDeli.com, the online Divorce Law Firm is your best alternative if you are looking for a low cost (some would say cheap) divorce done by experienced Florida attorneys in a timely fashion.