Offering a simpler and cheaper path to divorce, an ever-growing array of dot-coms, computer-savvy lawyers and state court officials are encouraging unhappily married Americans to arrange their breakups online
Published:
30 May 2003 y., Friday
Offering a simpler and cheaper path to divorce, an ever-growing array of dot-coms, computer-savvy lawyers and state court officials are encouraging unhappily married Americans to arrange their breakups online.
For fees ranging from $50 to $300 — a small fraction of what most lawyers charge even for an uncontested divorce — couples are being provided with the appropriate forms and varying degrees of help completing them.
The phenomenon is spreading. Rival firms CompleteCase.com and LegalZoom.com each say they have served 20,000 clients nationwide in less than three years of operation. Hits on the divorce section of the California court system's do-it-youself Web site soared from 6,800 in May 2002 to about 15,000 last month.
"It's similar to the growth of online travel services and online stock trading," said Brian Lee, president of Los Angeles-based LegalZoom. "People are learning they don't need a travel agent or a stockbroker or a lawyer — they can do it themselves."
Many clients may still have to appear in court, but — in theory, at least — they will have all required paperwork with them and will be able to represent themselves.
Šaltinis:
usatoday.com
Copying, publishing, announcing any information from the News.lt portal without written permission of News.lt editorial office is prohibited.
The most popular articles
51-year-old mother of eight, sits beside her sick husband, Tuy Muy, 52, in Battambang Provincial Referral Hospital. He is lying on a bed with a stomach problem, battling nausea and vomiting.
more »
The length of maternity and paternity leave are at the heart of a crucial vote in the plenary sitting of March 24-25.
more »
The perception women have of the EU, the way the economic and financial crisis is affecting women and the lessons to be learnt ahead of the 2014 elections are among the issues to be tackled during a colloquium being held at the European Parliament on Tuesday.
more »
To achieve quicker de facto gender equality, Commission and Member States should adopt and implement specific gender equality policies, Parliament said in a resolution adopted on Thursday.
more »
Are you thinking about setting up your own business or are you already a successful entrepreneur? The Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs exchange scheme offers an excellent opportunity for new entrepreneurs to acquire relevant skills for managing a small or medium-sized enterprise (SME).
more »
The pain of divorce and separation is all too often accompanied by financial and emotional hardship when one parent lives abroad and refuses to provide financial help.
more »
Most Europeans still do not know they can call 112 anywhere in the EU to contact the police, fire brigade or an ambulance.
more »
Helping to meet Haiti's humanitarian, reconstruction and nation-building needs must be the EU's priority in tackling the earthquake's aftermath, says Parliament in a resolution approved on Wednesday.
more »
Further work is needed to continue improving access to safe drinking-water at home, sewerage systems and safe bathing water throughout the European Region.
more »
Poor housing remains a blight across Europe and Tuesday evening MEPs will debate a plan to extend EU funding to help renovate and repair housing stock for the poorest people on the continent.
more »