General guidance
This guide currently contains general legal information. Jurisdiction-specific guidance for your location is coming soon. The Concaso assessment will still tailor its questions and analysis based on your jurisdiction.
Do I need a lawyer?
Filing for divorce and resolving the consequences of separation are two different jobs. The filing itself is often administrative and can be done without a lawyer where both people agree. What usually needs advice is the agreement underneath it — parenting, support, property and pensions — because those terms are hard to reopen once signed.
- Uncontested and agreed is not the same as simple.
- Mediation resolves the disagreement; it does not usually give either person legal advice.
- Independent advice before signing is the step most often regretted when it is skipped.
Defendant Centre
If you are defending this
Someone has raised this against you, so the guide below is most useful for understanding what you must respond to, and by when.
- Find the deadline on anything you have been served with and diarise it immediately.
- Do not ignore it — many processes allow a decision to be made against you if you do not respond.
- Preserve documents and messages now; deleting anything is far worse than the underlying dispute.
- Separate what you genuinely dispute from what you accept, so the response is focused.
- Consider whether you have a claim of your own arising from the same events.
- Check whether an insurance policy or an employer may be required to cover or defend it.
Reading this from the other side? Switch to the Plaintiff Centre view.
When you may not need a lawyer
- Both of you agree the marriage is over and on how to end it.
- There are no children under the age of majority.
- Finances are simple: no property, pension, business or significant debt to divide.
- Neither of you is dependent on the other for support.
- Court self-help services or an online filing route exists where you are.
When legal advice becomes important
- There are children, and parenting time or decision-making is not fully agreed.
- Support is involved — income is unclear, self-employed, or changing.
- A home, pension, business interest or significant debt has to be divided.
- One of you has substantially more information about the finances than the other.
- There has been family violence, coercion or fear of it.
- One party lives in a different province, state or country.
- You are being asked to sign an agreement drafted by the other side's lawyer.
Do I need a lawyer for divorce mediation?
A mediator helps you reach agreement but is neutral and generally does not advise either of you on what you are entitled to. That is why the usual pattern is mediation to settle the terms, then independent legal advice before signing.
- Get financial disclosure before you negotiate, not after.
- Take advice on the range of likely outcomes so you know what you are trading.
- Have the agreement reviewed before it is signed and filed.
Child support and whether it needs a lawyer
Support for children is usually calculated from income under published guidelines rather than negotiated freely, and in many places it cannot simply be bargained away. Where income is straightforward, the calculation is often something people do themselves; where income is variable, self-employed or disputed, that is where advice earns its cost.
What to have ready if you speak with a lawyer
- Date of marriage and date of separation.
- Income information for both of you.
- A list of assets, debts and pensions, with rough values.
- Any agreement already drafted or signed, including a prenuptial agreement.
- The parenting arrangement as it is actually working now.
Gather these
- Marriage certificate
- Income documents for both parties
- Property, mortgage and pension statements
- Bank and debt statements
- Any existing agreement or court order
What tends to matter
- Complete financial disclosure from both sides
- The date of separation, and what evidences it
- How parenting has actually been shared since separation
- Records of contributions to property
- Written communications about what was agreed
Want both lists in one printable page?
Common mistakes
- Signing an agreement drafted by the other side without independent advice
- Negotiating before full financial disclosure
- Treating a mediator as a source of legal advice
- Overlooking pensions, which are often the second largest asset
- Assuming child support can be waived by agreement
Frequently asked
Can I get divorced without a lawyer?
In many places yes, where both people agree and the finances are simple. The filing itself is often administrative; the terms of separation are the part that usually benefits from advice.
Do I need a lawyer to file for divorce?
Usually not for an uncontested filing. Court self-help services and online filing routes exist in many jurisdictions.
Do I need a lawyer for divorce mediation?
Not to attend, but a mediator is neutral and does not advise you. Independent advice before signing the resulting agreement is the standard precaution.
Do I need a lawyer for child support?
Not where income is clear and guideline tables apply. Advice matters when income is variable or disputed, or where support is being traded against other terms.
Not sure which parts you need help with?
Tell Concaso what your situation is and get a structured read on what is settled, what is not, and what to deal with first.
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Worried about the cost of a lawyer?
Free and lower-cost help exists in most places — legal aid, community clinics, court self-help services and referral schemes. What is open to you depends on where you are and what kind of problem you have.
See where to get legal helpThis guide is general information, not legal advice, and Concaso is not a law firm. Reading it does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Deadlines and procedures differ by jurisdiction and change over time — confirm anything you intend to rely on.