Washington D.C. Divorce Courts

USA Today

Web site offers point-and-click splits

By Deborah Sharp, USA TODAY

Couples can find a mate, fill out a bridal registry and plan a honeymoon on the computer. Now they can also divorce online.

A Web site started last year by a Seattle attorney gives the unhappily wed in Washington, California, Florida and New York the option of dissolving their marriages online. Texas is next, and several other states are being considered.

The site is the latest twist in a do-it-yourself trend. Changing trends in the USA Average age of first marriage Divorce year male female Divorced Americans Divorces granted 1970 23.2 20.8 4.3 million 0.7 million 2000 26.8 25.1 19.9 million 1.2 million Sources: U.S. Census; National Center for Health Statistics

No national figures exist on self-representation. But some experts estimate that as many as half of 1.2 million couples divorcing annually in the USA do so without a lawyer representing at least one of the parties.

The Web site, www.completecase.com, differs from the many self-help sites offering advice, referrals or downloads of documents needed to file for divorce in a particular state.

For $249, the Web site prompts couples with questions on everything from dividing financial assets to deciding where the kids celebrate birthdays. The software then uses their answers to fill out the documents that a couple can download and submit to a court.

Requirements vary by locale as to whether a couple must show up in court or can mail in or fax their divorce filing. But in all cases, a judge must still sign the order ending a marriage.

Randy Finney, a family law attorney for 11 years and the founder of the Web site, says it was designed for uncontested divorces. It's not for couples with convoluted finances or for those fighting over child custody and who gets the dog.

"The decision to get a divorce comes way before the decision about how to get a divorce," says Finney, 35, who is happily married. "I don't think anyone takes their wedding vows so frivolously that they're going to get a divorce just because they can do it for $249."

Not everyone is thrilled with the notion of cyber-divorce.

Judges and lawyers fret that couples who use the Web site may believe they've had legal counsel when they haven't. And leaders in the movement to save marriages complain that point-and-click divorce further undermines the institution's supposed sanctity.

"I can only think of one use of the Internet that's worse and that's pornography," says Dennis Rainey, executive director of FamilyLife, a religious group based in Little Rock. "We're trying to do all we can to call people to keep their wedding vows."

FamilyLife has joined with 30 other organizations since 1999 in drawing 175,000 spouses nationwide to "I Still Do" ceremonies that affirm marriage.

Despite the marriage celebrations, about one-fifth of American men and women have been divorced at least once.

A study released last month by the U.S. Census shows about 90% of Americans will marry at some point. For men, 54% married just once. For women, 60%. Serial marriage is rare: Only 3% of Americans have married three times or more; 13% have married twice.

Finney estimates his Web site has helped 1,000 couples unhitch. Stacey Kiss of Seattle is among those who traveled to virtual Splitsville. The self-described "Internet junkie" says it took her and her husband of seven years about three hours one night to click through the Web site's detailed questions.

"We never got along on anything through our entire marriage, but we still managed to come to an agreement," says Kiss, 36, a hospital business-services manager. "Why drag it out and make it complicated?"

She says the online split was cheaper and easier than her first, traditional divorce. Now single, Kiss says she's comfortable with dot-com divorce, but she draws the line at cyber-dating.

"I like surfing the Web," she says, "but not for men."

TIME Magazine

Express Divorce

Ernesto Gomez and his wife Blanca had been planning to get a divorce for three years. They had already separated and worked out custody and child support for their two kids. But they had stalled on filing because they didn't want to deal with the hassle and expense. Hiring a lawyer, they were told, would cost at least $1,500. Using a free service offered by the court would involve numerous meetings spread out over several weeks.

So when Gomez heard an ad on the radio for a service called CompleteCase.com that would let him fill out the paperwork online for just $249, he decided to give it a try. Four days after he logged onto the site, he had the papers completed and filed in court. "CompleteCase gives you step-by-step instructions. You can't miss anything," says Gomez, a distribution-center manager in Miami.

Gomez is not the only one turning to the Internet to simplify the process. Other services, like divorcewizards. com and divorcesyourself.com also offer quickie online divorce kits, usually for $300 or less. No lawyer is involved unless a client chooses to pay extra for a consultation by phone or e-mail.

Brian Lee, president of legalzoom.com says his site has handled more than 30,000 divorces since its launch in 2001. Though people still have to convey their forms to the court, the process of filling out the paperwork can take less than an hour, thanks to simple online questionnaires that hand-hold customers through the process.

Online divorce is not an option if the couple can't agree on the terms. Even when they can, not everyone thinks it's a good idea. "Instant divorce is the last thing we need," says Mike McManus, president of the marriage advocacy group Marriage Savers. Instead of a divorce, McManus says, couples often just need time to cool off before working out their differences.

Still, such services are spreading. Utah and California offer do-it-yourself sites that let you fill the forms out online (for $20 at utcourts.gov/how to; free at www.courtinfo.ca.gov/selfhelp) Traffic on the California site rose from 6,800 page views in May 2002 to nearly 17,000 in May 2003. --By Anita Hamilton

Los Angeles Times

Couples Can Untie the Knot Online; Divorce is a mouse click away, but not for everyone.

The Los Angeles Times; Los Angeles, Calif.; Nov 19, 2001; MARTIN MILLER;

Abstract: Californians can legally split from their spouses over the Web site www.completecase.com and never have to set foot in a courthouse or lawyer's office. Legal papers can be completed within anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, depending on the complexity of the split, according to Randolph Finney, a Seattle-based family law attorney who founded the site.

For Californians, once the judge signs the documents, they are "legally binding and enforceable," says Finney, but per state law the divorce doesn't become finalized for six months.

The circle of online life is now complete. You can date online; you can marry online; and now you can divorce online.

Californians can legally split from their spouses over the Web site www.completecase.com and never have to set foot in a courthouse or lawyer's office. Legal papers can be completed within anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, depending on the complexity of the split, according to Randolph Finney, a Seattle-based family law attorney who founded the site.

For a flat fee of $249, the site walks divorcing couples step-by- step through such issues as community property and calculating child support payments. When the online form is completed, the applicant simply signs the papers and mails them to the courthouse.

But it's not for everyone. It works only for those couples who are parting amicably and filing for an uncontested divorce. "If you can't agree on who gets the kids, our site is not for you," says Finney, a married 35-year-old.

The site debuted earlier this year, but only to residents of Washington state. Last month, California was added, and soon Florida, New York and Oregon are expected to be added. So far, the site has helped process hundreds of divorces, says Finney.

The site has drawn critics who denounce the online divorce as yet another blow to society's bedrock institutions. The very ease of the process, some contend, makes family and marriage as disposable as an old appliance. Indeed, a similar site in England was recently condemned by the pope as immoral because it made divorce too easy.

Naturally, Finney disagrees. "I think our Web site has the opposite effect," he said. "If you're going to get divorced, let's do it in a civil manner. I really don't believe having something available that makes it easier and costs less money is going to encourage divorce."

The inspiration for the project came from his law practice, where he primarily handles divorces. It took about a year to get the site up and running. "On almost a daily basis, I would get clients who said they needed a divorce but didn't have the money or the patience with the legal process to pursue it," he said. "These people are really stuck between a rock and a hard place."

For Californians, once the judge signs the documents, they are "legally binding and enforceable," says Finney, but per state law the divorce doesn't become finalized for six months. "It isn't quite as fast as a Las Vegas divorce," he says.

KSLA News 12

Analysis: Louisiana among states with most amicable divorces

By KSLA Staff, KSLA NEWS 12

It's generally assumed that once any couple has reached the stage of divorce, things have reached a low point.

But thankfully, divorce doesn't always have to be a bitter situation. Some couples manage to part ways as friends.

Many couples manage to part ways quite amicably; just look at the blissful ‘conscious uncoupling’ of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, or observe how Demi Moore and Bruce Willis holiday together with their new partners. There’s even a hot new trend for former husbands and wives to take ‘divorce selfies’ just after leaving court.

A recent analysis by CompleteCase.com found which states have the happiest and easiest divorces by comparing couples in each state who declared online that they were in agreement with each other against those who were not.

Louisiana came in the top ten when it comes to an easy, amicable divorce.

According to CompleteCase, which facilitates online divorces, completing divorce papers in the Pelican State, as well as other states from Oregon to Rhode Island can be a pretty painless process as this is where couples are more likely to have an uncontested divorce. Couples in these states might even remain friends afterwards.

Things are likely to be pleasantly cordial in states stretching across the nation from Hawaii to New York; there might be a few conversations through gritted teeth, or a little bit of sniping back and forth, but generally divorcing couples in these states can politely get through it all without too many recriminations.

However, if you live in Alabama, you’re not likely to have a quick or easy divorce; relationships which break down here can be the most disagreeable in the country when starting the divorce process. From bitter disputes over who owns what, to raging arguments over alimony, lawyers in the Yellowhammer state stand to do rather well.

Huffington Post

Blake Shelton Opens Up About 'Fast' Divorce From Miranda Lambert

By Deborah Sharp, HUFFINGTON POST

Country music star Blake Shelton has finally addressed why his split from Miranda Lambert seemed so quick.

The two announced their divorce on Jul. 20, but according to US Weekly, it was finalized just hours after it was made public. Shelton had filed divorce papers two weeks earlier, TMZ reports.

In a recent interview with "The Bobby Bones Show," Shelton shared how he kept their breakup quiet.

"In Oklahoma, it happens so fast," said Shelton. "Like, Miranda and I didn't have any kids, and we had a prenuptial agreement, or whatever we had. So, it was like once we filed for divorce… it was like a nine or 10-day waiting period until it's over.”

He said that he was not too worried about rumours, or whispers about infidelity.

“By the time anyone knew anything, it was over.”

The superstar couple were married for four years and famously met in 2005 while Shelton was still married to first wife Kaynette Gern.

"I didn't know if it was just initial butterflies… I don't know what it was," Lambert told Hoba Kotb in 2011, about when she first met Shelton. "It was just this draw to each other."

But while those butterflies may have faded for the couple, their speedy divorce may have helped them avoid any further drama.

Oklahoma came in second in a ranking of states with the nicest divorces, according to new research from divorce form preparation service CompleteCase.com.

Shelton told "The Bobby Bones Show" that he and Lambert are still on good terms.

"Our whole thing was: You know, we're just going to be cool about this," said Shelton. "It is what it is. We're buddies."

News Channel 4

“I just want everyone to be friends,” Little girl has a heart-to-heart with mom about divorce

by KFOR-TV & K. QUERRY, NEWS CHANNEL 4

Divorce can be difficult on everyone involved, especially children.

6-year-old Tiana decided that she had seen enough of her parents’ arguments and fights following their divorce.

Instead of bottling up her emotions, the little girl decided to have a heart-to-heart with her mother.

“Mom, are you ready to be his friend?” Tiana asks. “Just try your best. I don’t want you and my dad to be replaced… and mean again. I want you and my dad to be placed, and settled, and be friends. I’m not trying to be mean, I just want everyone to be friends.”

While divorce is usually full of emotions, it doesn’t have to be a bitter experience.

An analysis by CompleteCase.com found which states have the most amicable divorces by looking at the number of couples who declared online that they were in agreement with each other.

In fact, researchers say Oklahomans tend to be pretty easy going when it comes to getting a divorce.

Experts say people with the easiest divorces live in Vermont, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Oregon, Kansas, Idaho, Louisiana, Delaware, Ohio and Texas.

The worst divorces tend to happen in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Nevada, New Hampshire, Florida, Wyoming, Nebraska and Tennessee.

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