Legal Question in Family Law in North Carolina

Re: doing my own divorce work

You ask first can you file your own divorce in NC? Yes you can.

You then ask what forms do you use. That tends to

indicate you are not really in a position to do your own

work. However, you can go to the clerk of court and ask for

any divorce file and purchase copies of

pleadings which you can then tailor to your own

situation. You will also need to make certain you have

good service and that you are prepared to address

the relatively few questions needed to present you case in

divorce court. Depending on the judge you

will get coaching and encouragement or you will

be treated as a pro se person trying to practice law

without a license and then have the divorce denied.

If you have questions regarding real property you have

entered the arena of equitable distribution

and you really need a lawyer for ED actions, you are

dealing with several issues which affect significant

property rights. In fact, you must know something about ED

before you even file for divorce.

I don't mean to be overly blunt, but

this bulletin board and others sometimes

calls for general information and tips about

the law and that's fine, but I have to be careful

when I am asked how to do certain specific tasks.

It's not so much that is "free lawyering" but

that if you do something and you lose and someone says

you shouldn't have done it then you may feel , well, that

lawyer so-and-so on the web said yadayada and I relied on him

and I'm hurt so I think he did malpractice. It is

a growing concern in the community.