Ending things with your better (or worse) half requires a lot more effort than beginning the relationship. Once you decide to divorce or separate, the paperwork pile turns into a mountain. One of the first hurdles self-represented individuals face is simply trying to find the forms and documents that must be completed and filed. Without those, pleading your court case is very difficult.
Luckily, there are several options to explore, whether you are representing yourself or have an attorney. The State Court Administrator’s Office (SCAO) has a plethora of forms online and available for free at https://www.courts.michigan.gov/SCAO-forms/. These forms are regularly updated so it’s best to check that your form is the most recent version. SCAO has forms for a multitude of legal areas, not just family law, and are used frequently by the court and litigants.
Another
popular option is Michigan Legal Help’s website, https://michiganlegalhelp.org, which provides
step-by-step instructions on a variety of legal issues, including family law,
criminal, employment, housing and others. In addition to forms, Michigan Legal
Help has articles and helpful links to clinics and other resources. You can
fill out and print a “do it yourself” divorce by simply answering the questions
and inputting your data. By using this tool, you’re not just handed a blank
judgment and instead the site prints a completed document based on your information.
While the forms are free, you can make an optional donation.
Some courts
provide DIY divorce kits with the forms necessary to handle your divorce start
to finish but the cost for these kits vary and not all counties provide them. The
Legal Resource Center, or LRC, run by Eastern Michigan University’s paralegal program,
operates out of the Washtenaw County courthouse and provides assistance in the
areas of probate and family law, housing disputes and small claims issues. While
the LRC can’t provide legal advice, it provides help with accessing and completing
forms. As it is run in conjunction with the university, be sure to check the
hours of operation as it follows the academic calendar. There may also be a
cost related to printing fees.
The Friend of
the Court (FOC) carries a variety of free forms as it relates to family law
cases. Some are available on your county’s FOC website, or you can request that
they be mailed or emailed to you.
While this
article is not exhaustive of the resources available to litigants and attorneys,
it’s a solid start to pleading your case.
