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Texas Lawyers Fight Divorce-by-Form

State Supreme Court insists on making divorce process cheaper, easier

By Mark Russell,  Newser Staff

Posted Feb 24, 2012 9:55 AM CST

(Newser) – Divorce lawyers in Texas regularly charge $100 or more an hour, and the state Supreme Court wants to give couples looking to end their marriages a cheaper option: fill-in-the-blanks forms, made easy enough that they often eliminate the need for lawyers entirely. Unsurprisingly, Texas lawyers are fighting the move, reports the Wall Street Journal. "The client and the system are far better served by having a lawyer," said the president of the state's bar association.

Supporters of the forms say the courts are just reflecting reality: The Journal reports that in the county that Austin sits in, 78% of divorces by childless couples in 2010-2011 were filed by self-represented parties. It's time, then, to make those forms as easy as possible to avoid mistakes, which only add to the courts' backlog, say supporters. The state Supreme Court will vote this spring on whether the new method should be instituted.

The Texas Supreme Court wants to make fill-in-the-blanks forms available to divorcing people who cannot afford lawyers, but Texas lawyers are opposed.
The Texas Supreme Court wants to make fill-in-the-blanks forms available to divorcing people who cannot afford lawyers, but Texas lawyers are opposed.   (Shutterstock)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 14 comments
toeser
Feb 25, 2012 7:42 AM CST
There simply is no other profession that sucks more money out of the economy and puts less of anything of value back in than being a lawyer.  Of course there is a valid need for lawyers, but we have more per capita than anywhere else on earth, and a high percentage of the excess are just ambulance chasers. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_country_in_the_world_has_most_lawyers_per_capita
bewilderbeast
Feb 25, 2012 3:32 AM CST
Um, lemme see: I can fill in these forms myself for free, or I can pay you hundreds of dollars to fill them in for me from information you get from me? Can I think about it and get back to you? I'll take the forms with me.  
oldgoat
Feb 24, 2012 7:26 PM CST
I thought the conservatives were wanting to go with the route of making divorce harder instead of easier.  You know this whole marriage thing needs to be made so that you stay together no matter what.  Let's go back to the woman stayed at home and kept the house clean, the kids fed and met hubby at the door with his favorite drink and supper on the table thing.  That way she can't go out and divorce him unless she wants to live in some shack.

 
divorce • Texas • divorce attorney • Texas Supreme Court

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