Getting a divorce is a very difficult time in a person's life. In addition to the sadness, emotional stress, and anger that a person may feel, a lot of people's finances change when two separate households are formed. Thus, it is not surprising that some people try to lower the cost of divorce by opting out of hiring a divorce attorney and trying to handle the entire thing on their own. While this may save a little bit of money in the short term, in the long term, this decision is almost always a very big and costly mistake. Continue reading to learn more about why it is a huge mistake to not hire a divorce attorney when ending your marriage.

No One to Protect Your Best Interests

Most people do not get divorced multiple times, so there is a good chance that you know very little about the divorce process. When you try to navigate a divorce on your own without any legal knowledge, you are likely to make poor decisions that will come back to haunt your after the divorce is finalized. Not hiring a divorce lawyer is an especially bad choice if your spouse has retained his or her own divorce attorney. When you have a divorce attorney representing you, you can count on him or her to look out for your best interest every step of the way to ensure that the terms of your divorce are fair for both parties.

Letting Emotions Get in the Way

Ending a marriage involves so many decisions and negotiations, and ultimately compromise. For most people, going through a divorce is highly emotionally, and it can be very difficult to make clear and logical choices when you are experiencing strong feelings and emotions. It is not uncommon for people who went through a divorce without the services of a divorce attorney to have a lot of regrets about the choices that they made during a stressful time. A good divorce attorney will be unbiased and will help ensure that all decisions that you make pertaining to the details of the divorce are made clearly and logically.

Forgetting Important Details

Getting divorced involves more than just splitting the bank account and deciding who will have the kids when. There are so many fine details that need to be accounted for, but people who have no legal experience and have opted to not hire a divorce attorney don't know this. You may end up kicking yourself after the divorce is finalized if you failed to hire a lawyer and forget to include specific things in your divorce decree, such as division of 401(k) accounts, vacation visitation schedules, and who has the legal right to make choices about a child's education. When you have a divorce attorney, they will make sure that everything is taken care of, down the the smallest detail. 

To learn more, contact a firm like Law Offices Of James Jackson.