Do You Need a Divorce Lawyer in Pennsylvania?

If you are planning to get divorced in Pennsylvania, do you need to hire a divorce lawyer? Or, can you successfully navigate the divorce process on your own?

In Pennsylvania (as in other states), you are not required to hire a divorce lawyer to represent you. If you want to, you can handle your divorce on your own, and you don’t have to speak with a lawyer once along the way.

But, while you can handle your divorce on your own, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you should. There are several benefits to hiring a lawyer—and these benefits will be well worth it in the end.

7 Important Benefits of Hiring a Lawyer for Your Divorce in Pennsylvania

What are the benefits of hiring a lawyer for your divorce in Pennsylvania? Here are seven examples:

1. Making Sure You Don’t Overlook Important Issues During Your Divorce

In a typical divorce, spouses will need to address a variety of issues in order to reach a final resolution that allows them to move on. If you overlook any of these issues, this could have costly consequences in the future. These include (but are by no means limited to) issues related to key aspects of your divorce such as:

• Determining which of your assets are (and aren’t) subject to equitable distribution
• Dividing your marital debts
• Determining if alimony is warranted (and, if so, in what amount and for how long)
• Applying Pennsylvania’s “best interests” factors
• Calculating child support and addressing child-related expenses that fall outside of Pennsylvania’s Child Support Guidelines

When you are going through the divorce process, addressing these issues (among others) in an informed and cohesive way helps ensure that you have a strong foundation for the future. Conversely, if you overlook any of these issues, they will remain unresolved—and this could lead to contentious disputes down the line once both you and your spouse have moved on from your relationship.

2. Helping You Anticipate (and Plan For) Potential Roadblocks

Even when divorcing spouses are willing (and generally able) to work together, it is not unusual for disagreements to arise during the divorce process. Getting divorced inherently involves resolving differences, and it only makes sense that divorcing spouses’ interests will not be aligned 100% of the time.

With this in mind, it is important to anticipate (and plan for) potential roadblocks during your divorce. An experienced divorce lawyer will be able to help you identify where you and your spouse might have trouble coming to terms—and will be able to help you plan accordingly. In most cases, taking this type of proactive approach will help prevent conflicts and facilitate an efficient and amicable resolution.

3. Helping You Consider Creative Options for Achieving an Amicable Resolution

Oftentimes, overcoming potential roadblocks will involve implementing creative solutions. Generally speaking, divorcing spouses in Pennsylvania have a good amount of flexibility to find creative ways to come to terms—provided that they know how to do so.

Importantly, even if you and your spouse are in agreement on a particular issue, this doesn’t necessarily mean that you have settled on the best solution under the circumstances at hand. Here too, an experienced divorce lawyer will be able to provide valuable insights that help ensure you are making the best decisions for you and your children long-term.

4. Keeping Everyone Focused on the End Goal if Tempers Start to Flare

If tempers start to flare during a divorce (which is not uncommon), keeping everyone focused on the end goal can be essential for avoiding a contentious dispute that ends up in court. In this scenario, an experienced divorce lawyer will focus on proactive conflict resolution. While divorcing spouses will often struggle to get their discussions back on track on their own, an experienced divorce lawyer can step in, be the voice of reason for both parties, and help reset the parties’ discussions so that they can continue moving forward.

5. Drafting a Comprehensive (and Legally Enforceable) Divorce Settlement Agreement

Finalizing the terms of a divorce out of court involves preparing a divorce settlement agreement that both spouses will sign. It is imperative that this agreement is both comprehensive and legally enforceable. If it isn’t comprehensive, it will leave issues unresolved (which can lead to problems in the future as discussed above). If it isn’t legally enforceable, it won’t serve its intended purpose.

6. Answering Your Questions Throughout the Process

As you work through your divorce, you are almost certain to have numerous questions throughout the process. Not only can trying to find answers online be frustrating, but it can also be risky. Unfortunately, not everything you read online is accurate—and, if you rely on inaccurate information, you could end up unknowingly making some very bad decisions. By working with a lawyer, you can ensure that you get all of the answers you need.

7. Helping You Avoid Mistakes that Could Complicate Your Divorce (or Your Post-Divorce Life)

Along with answering your questions, your divorce lawyer can also help you avoid mistakes that could complicate the divorce process and/or your post-divorce life. When you are going through a divorce, there are lots of mistakes you need to avoid. Here too, by relying on the advice of an experienced divorce lawyer, you can feel confident that you are not leaving issues unresolved (or potentially creating issues that you will have to deal with in the future).

Again, these are just examples. Going through a divorce is a complex legal process with long-term financial and practical implications for both you and your children. There are many additional important ways a divorce lawyer can help you, and an experienced divorce lawyer will focus on helping you efficiently achieve a cost-effective resolution with your long-term best interests in mind.

Schedule a Free, No-Obligation Consultation with Stroudsburg, PA Divorce Lawyer Gary J. Saylor, II

Are you on the fence about hiring a divorce lawyer? If so, we strongly encourage you to contact us before you make any decisions about your divorce. To schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with Stroudsburg, PA divorce lawyer Gary J. Saylor, II, call us at 570-421-5568 or request an appointment online today.