Amicable Divorce

Updated on March 22, 2010
R.H. asks from Ebensburg, PA
9 answers

My husband and I have been separated for 18 months now and have decided to divorce. We have discussed what we would like to do in terms of custody, child support etc and we agree that I will have primary custody and he will be paying child support, what we would like to do is avoid astronomical attorney fees, since neither of us will be fighting anything. He is currently living in Texas and I'm living in PA. What is the cheapest/quickest way for us to go about this? We don't own a home or anything either.
Thanks
Becky

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So What Happened?

Thank you for all the great advice. I know the term amicable divorce is usually an oxymoron, but hopefully we will be the anomaly! Things are not signed sealed and delivered yet so we will see what happens. I am going to try to do this online since we have no assets and we are not disputing anything. I have also contacted a mediator to see what all that entails.
Thanks again.

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Y.A.

answers from Harrisburg on

My husband had to go through this with the mother of his son. However, we had to go throught the whole process and spent tons of money. I do know though that you could go through an attorney and they could write a mutual agreement for both of you. As long as both parties agree to the terms (visitation and the monetary amount of the child support), this should be all that you need. I know you can go to an attorney for a free consultation on this. Hope this helps.

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D.S.

answers from Allentown on

Hi, Becky:

Both of your go to your nearest mediation center. Each of you talk to a family mediator. Maybe you can do a conference call with the details worked out. Then with the paperwork, call around a get an inexpensive attorney to fill the papers.

Good luck. Both of all need to be congratulated for handling this with integrity and responsibility.
D.

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F.H.

answers from Phoenix on

Hi R., I think I googled "divorce in AZ" and The Divorce Store website popped up. I think they are paralegals. They had one store local and I paid $695 total (it was $300 more since we had kids). I had to answer a bunch of questions and filled out the papers with what my now ex and I agreed to and he looked them over and signed them, the Divorce Store filed everything with the court, I went to the hearing and it was done within 3 months. So look online, you should find something like this online. Good luck!

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S.B.

answers from Redding on

Becky,
You are amazing if you can have an amicable divorce. Unfortunately, that is almost never the case.
In California, you can do your own divorce papers. They are super easy when you aren't contesting anything. They do make you go to a Children of Divorce Workshop before your papers can be finalized, but it sounds like your kids won't have to be in the middle of a custody battle. The question I have and don't know the answer to is which state you should file in. You might want to research that as far as which one is simpler, etc.
I have helped people do their own divorces, where there were no children involved, and the only going to court that was necessary was for the actual filing of the papers and that was so the person that did the filing could get the filed copies to have the other person sign and the response was mailed in to the court. In that event, the only fees were for the actual filing with the court.
Since you have children involved, just make sure you know the laws of the states and have everything very carefully outlined. regarding custody, visitation, and financial responsibility, etc.
Best of luck to you and again, how refreshing to see adults acting like adults in a situation such as this.
Let us know how it goes.

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R.S.

answers from Allentown on

I did not read all the responses that you have received so I may be saying something already said. But I went through a divorce a few years ago. Now, unfortunately mine was not amicable. But my attorney would've charged $950 to write up all the agreements, etc. My attorney was very expensive so I am sure you can find a cheaper one. But I highly recommend you use a real attorney. It will be cheap since everything is agreed upon. Since a child is involved an online divorce will not cover everything. You need to "cross all the t's and dot all the i's". Call around to some family law attorneys in your area and ask them. Tell them that everything is agreed upon, they should be able to give you a flat rate fee.

Good Luck!!

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D.G.

answers from Richmond on

OMG If the 2 of you can do this civilly I applaud you. It will be so much better for your child(ren). As for the cheapest way to do this, look for a lawyer who specializes in Non-Contested divorce. It will cost about $500 or maybe even less. Work everything out on paper and have it notarized, this will omit going in front of a judge. If you need to, go to your local Friend of the Court and they will help out with mediation.

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S.C.

answers from Lancaster on

My Ex and I used mediation--they thought of everything. We developed a parenting plan together and it really helped with our long term communication. Worth every penny and it wasn't expensive. We split the cost of the actual divorce and the mediation fees. It came to about $800 and that included a lot more mediation that you would probably need since you will not need to split assets.

Good luck.

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J.C.

answers from Chicago on

Both my SIL's got the paperwork online, I think $200....then you take it to the court house & a court date is set........hope it goes smooth for you

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S.B.

answers from Pittsburgh on

My ex and I did things the same way you did... he paid for an online divorce somewhere (I forget the name of the site) where you answer the questions and then submit them. They write up the divorce, e-mail it to you and then you file it yourself. One of you will have to file against the other... There are fees involved at the court house, too. It only cost us a few hundred dollars.

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