Should I do the divorce myself with a "kit"?

Question: I am in Miami Florida and I am thinking about going at this divorce alone without a attorney. They sell do-it-yourself divorce kits here at Office Depot. I just want a simple 50/50 divorce, she can have custody, I just want unsupervised visitation and pay whatever child support the court sets. Is this a good idea?

The reason is I already filed for divorce about 8 months ago when she took the kids and fled the country to Japan for 4 months. I discontinued the divorce after she returned with them. Now things are not going as well as expected and I do not want to spend another $10,000.00 like I did before.

Answer: I do not believe that an Office Depot divorce kit is really appropriate for a case that began with your spouse fleeing the county and you having to spend $10,000.00 to get her returned. I suggest that you consult and retain an attorney to handle the divorce.

If you do not retain an attorney, I suggest that you at least have an attorney review the documents that you file with the court and review the final settlement papers. You could consider this as "shadow counsel" as they would not enter their appearance or go to court, but they would be available to answer questions. Many attorneys will not take this type of case and only work behind the scenes, but in a metropolitan area it should be possible.

If you believe that your wife is going to flee the country with the children, you could consider contacting the State Department and asking that their passports be canceled.

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