These are all important questions. But you don’t have to engage an attorney full time to get the reassurance that can come from an affiliation with an attorney suited to your personal needs. Provided your marriage was relatively short, you have no children, and property issues are uncomplicated, having one or two meetings with a lawyer who understands your concerns and who can suggest ways for you to attain your goals might give you the tools you need to represent yourself. Those tools can empower you despite all the turmoil people experience during the early stages of separation. Even if you were married for years and accumulated considerable property, but you intend to manage many details of your separation without the constant oversight of an attorney, having a sympathetic and sensitive lawyer with whom you can periodically consult can provide peace of mind in a way nothing else can.
A top-notch lawyer may be beyond your means, but that is no excuse for “going it all by yourself” if you don’t absolutely have to. If you choose an attorney wisely, using the techniques recommended on this website, you should be able to navigate the treacherous emotional waters of separation and divorce with far less difficulty. Your mental and emotional state will be less disrupted by the process of divorce if you can associate with an attorney who has a solid understanding of both the law and human nature. On the flip side, if you pick the wrong lawyer, your life could become sheer hell. A difficult, disruptive, unpleasant lawyer can turn an amicable situation into a protracted litigation matter that drags on for years.
