Are you looking for help with self-representation divorce coaching? There are three options in a family law court: hire a family lawyer, self-represent, and divorce legal coaching. This article will discuss the pros and cons of each.
Self-representation has become very common. A limited scope retainer is the same thing as legal coaching. The lawyer is only being hired “at need.”
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When most people contact a family law firm for the first time, they are very stressed out. They know they need to do something, but they don’t know where to begin. The other stress is how much the divorce is going to cost them. When you hire a family lawyer, he or she takes on your case. The lawyer you hired becomes responsible for your case. They do the work and make decisions.
Legal Coaching
They often only speak to the client when they need information. It is for the best as your lawyer will charge an hourly rate for phone call updates. Self-Represent In Family Court Because some people can’t afford a lawyer, they take the risk and self-represent in family court.
If you have assets and/or children, this is not recommended. If you have “nothing to lose,” then it may be okay to self-represent. There is a blend between self-representing and hiring a family lawyer full time. This is called Divorce Legal Coaching. A legal coach is a lawyer that “trains” people that are going through a family law issue.
What do legal coaches do?
A legal coach can help someone going through a family law issue offload some of their burdens onto the lawyer. Going through something like a divorce is already stressful, but doing it yourself can seem impossible. A legal coach is a lawyer who is very knowledgeable about family law. They answer questions from people that are going through the family law court system self-represented.
How much does self-representation divorce coaching cost?
The lawyer’s hourly rate is often around $350/hour. Legal coaching is much cheaper than hiring a lawyer full-time. It is a good alternative for those that cannot afford a family lawyer.
At what stage can I hire a legal coach?
At any stage of a family law conflict. The lawyer can help with planning for court, training the individual how to act in court, working on a settlement offer, court procedures or helping with appeals if the self-represented individual loses their case.
How many people in Ontario are self-presented each year?
Around 80,000 according to The Ryerson Legal Innovation Zone. People that consider legal coaching are often only willing to spend between $1,000 – $5,000 on their family law issue. The average full-time lawyer will cost around $10,000 (but can be more).
Self Representation Divorce Coaching Services
- Preparing for court
- Putting together a legal strategy
- Getting ready for mediation or arbitration
- The proper way to do affidavits
- Giving a list of trusted advisors (psychologists, mediators, private investigators…etc.)
- Checking an agreement that you drafted yourself
- Checking an agreement the other side created
- Teaching you the rules of the court
- Giving you the sections of the law that might apply to you can focus your reading
The lawyer provides advice, but it is up to the person being coached to make the decisions. Also, you will do most of the work, which greatly reduces legal fees.
There are a lot of people that have just a few questions that need to be answered. They want to ask general questions and they want to get to know how the divorce process works in their province.
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The most common question we get asked is how to prepare for the family court. Our lawyers would be happy to share their experiences with you. At any stage of your divorce process, you can reach out.
The person being coached gets to decide how much they spend on coaching. This is different from the person who hires a family lawyer to take care of the matter in court. The lawyer should be able to provide an estimate. But it is only an educated guess. With coaching, you know that if you get two hours of coaching, it will only cost you $700.
Self Representation Divorce Coaching Feedback
“She didn’t want alimony, we had a good agreement on support/ shared custody, and neither of us could afford a lawyer. She put us in debt before she sprang the news. Hoarded money, and so on. Then, everything went well in court until our child support agreement.
The judge threw it out even though we both agreed and signed a statement. He did it because he wanted to. He was an ass……Anyway, I did do a lot of free consultations with different lawyers asking different questions so I had a good idea of how to go about it….. If you can afford a lawyer and the ex is difficult, I’d say you should. If the ex is working with you (being fair about working out the details), you can save a lot of money in the short term at least, when you need it most to get on your feet. That’s my take on it, everyone’s situation is different.” – Chris
In conclusion, self-representation can be a lonely place. Having someone on your side that knows the law can help you sleep at night.
Author: Alistair Vigier is the CEO of ClearWay Law