Why every self-rep should follow this Blog

Are you in Family Court or do you have a family law issue?

If you’re acting for yourself in a family court matter the posts in this Blog are designed for you.

If you’re dealing with a contested divorce, an access or custody issue, q matter involving child support or spousal support, division of property, equalization issues, changing an existing order or agreement, and are representing yourself – this is the Blog created for you.

If you’re in family court and could use some assistance or support, this is the Blog for you.

Whatever your reason, if you want information, strategic insight, tips that lawyers know and charge you for – The Family Law Coach Blog is the place for you.

The Family Law Coach – Helping you help yourself

The Family Law Coach is dedicated to servicing the self-represented litigant in a family law dispute. If you’re a self-rep – acting for yourself – in a family law matter, The Family Law Coach is intended to help you. Our mission is: Helping you help yourself.

We’re intending this blog to be series of comments and observations to help people acting for themselves in a family law proceeding to be more informed and effective.

Being effective requires knowledge and tools

“Action to be effective must be directed to clearly conceived ends.”  – Jawaharlal Nehr

In the family court system you need to have a well-defined primary objective – what Nehru called “clearly conceived ends”- if you want to be effective. But you need more. You also need a plan and the tools to get there.

Family law litigation is difficult in a lot of ways. There Rules and strategies that are unfamiliar to most people, And you’re learning how to navigate the system while at the same timeexperiencingemotional, social, and financial difficulties.

It’s not easy representing yourself

I’ve been practicing family law for over 45 years and understand what it’s like to find yourself handling your own case. That’s why I created The Family Law Coach. To try to offer some help to those who are acting for themselves.

It’s my hope that the posts in this Blog, and the information found on TheFamilyLaw Coach site, as well as the services offered through The Family Law Coach, will provide the information, coaching, and assistance you want.

Judges. lawyers, and academics across North America are concerned about the rise in self-reps in family courts and the impact that’s having. It’s clogging up the system. Judges are using time and energy to help people who don’t know or understand their situation and may be doing worse because of that. It’s costing governments more to operate a system when so may people in it don’t know how it works. And it often wastes the time and money of those clients who use lawyers.

Legal Aid and community clinic organizations are overloaded and can only help people who qualify – usually those with a very low income.

On the other hand, self-reps tend to start out with artificially optimistic ideas of their chance of success and end up disappointed or upset because things didn’t work out the way they wanted or expected. They blame the system.

Most self-reps complain that they can’t get access to meaningful legal advice, courtroom coaching, or strategic assistance without retaining a lawyer to take over their case, and they either don’t want that or can’t afford it.

What to do? Stick with us.

The key message from The Family Law Coach is no secret. We believe, as do the vast majority of judges and lawyers in the family court system, along with clients in family court who have lawyers, that a self-rep who doesn’t have legal advice and assistance will do worse than one who does.

The Family Law Coach is a new way for self-reps to help themselves. There’s a lot of free information available on the site to help a self-rep continue to act for himself or herself. There are resources to use, Questions and Answers to help clarify matters, Tips about acting for yourself whether with the other party or in court, and more. And of course there’s our Blog.

Check back frequently for the postings on The Family Law Coach Blog. Look at the free information and assistance found on The Family Law Coach website (www.thefamilylawcoach.ca). Or consider one or more of the services offered through The Family Law Coach .

Whatever you decide, we at The Family Law Coach are dedicated to helping you help yourself.

Welcome to our blog. Come back frequently.

Joel Miller
Miller Family Law Services
The Family Law Coach