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Internet Florida County Brings Divorce Online
Jason Mick (Blog) - November 14, 2007 10:02 AM
Print E-mail del.icio.us 74 comment(s) - last by clovell.. on Nov 15 at 5:32 PM
The new service aims to save divorce filers time and money

It looks like you will soon be able to do more than just online shopping and download tunes via the internet.  The South Florida Sun-Sentinel is reporting a new development in Broward County, South Florida, concerning online legality.  In what can perhaps be seen as a sad reflection of our times, the county has just launched online services which allow married couples to apply for divorce online.

The site will guide residents through the legal steps to getting a divorce.  The system is designed to help people with low income save money by foregoing attorney fees.  The various steps on the site contain full information, including legal definitions.  They also have sets of questions to help users determine which forms they need to fill out.

"It kind of guides you through, it asks questions. Once it knows your name, it will put it in every space it should go," Kris Mazzeo, director of the circuit/civil family division of the clerk of courts, said.

Once residents complete the online forms necessary, they merely have to mail the signed forms to the county clerk's office.  Some forms do require a notary signature.

Broward County officials feel the service will save its citizens time and inconvenience.

"People come downtown and it's expensive to park. If we can keep them from making extra trips to the courthouse, it would be great for them," director Mazzeo said.

The city may also have some selfish motives in adopting this change of policy.  The online application process is expected to simplify the paperwork needed by the county clerks and eliminate incomplete applications and angry customers.

Broward County is also launching similar legal services for small claims lawsuits and tenant evictions.

Broward County is not the first county to bring its divorce process online.  The opulent Palm Beach County also has adopted such a system, along with several others.

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Cool
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 11/14/2007 10:24:32 AM , Rating: 2
Now the paperwork won't kill me..... Shame its not implemented up here in VA =/




RE: Cool
By JasonMick (blog) on 11/14/2007 10:34:59 AM , Rating: 2
I hear you man I hear you. Things aren't looking good for me, even though I wanted to work on them...and the worst part in my opinion, best part in outsider opinions, is that I am at the ripe young age of 22.

The article hit a bit too close to comfort, when I wrote it, I have to say.

I think Roland S. Martin's commentary on the sad state of rising divorce rates is very insightful:
http://cnn.com/2007/US/10/24/roland.martin/index.h...

I didn't include it in the final article as it is too editorial.

However, I agree with the gist of Roland's article. People need to try harder to make marriages work. But on the other hand, sometimes it gets to the point where you just can't fix things, no matter how hard you try. So I suppose this service is a decent thing, trying to save people hassle.

*Sigh*, sorry to hear of your troubles.


RE: Cool
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 11/14/07, Rating: 0
RE: Cool
By RogueSpear on 11/14/2007 11:17:05 AM , Rating: 2
Perpetual dating without living together - if I had to do it all over again.


RE: Cool
By TomZ on 11/14/2007 11:42:12 AM , Rating: 2
That sounds like a nightmare - after all, there is a downside to the lack of commitment. For example, what if you got really sick - would the person you're just dating stick around and take care of you? What if you lost your job would your "girlfriend" support you for a while? Maybe so, maybe not.

What about kids? Don't even think of bringing up kids in a non-committed relationship - that's most always going to be a disaster. Raising kids is hard when you have a good situation - anything else just makes it that much harder.


RE: Cool
By Lord 666 on 11/14/2007 12:24:31 PM , Rating: 1
FYI - 50% of all pregnancies are unplanned. Sorry, life is not a disaster.


RE: Cool
By Parhel on 11/14/2007 12:36:24 PM , Rating: 4
No, it's not a disaster, but I can't imagine how difficult it would be to be a single parent. I'm amazed at how much work being a married parent is.


RE: Cool
By Ringold on 11/14/2007 3:31:25 PM , Rating: 2
Quality has to slip somewhere, or responsibility shifted elsewhere.

I wont point fingers, merely making an observation -- only 24 hours in a day for one, but 48 for two. Economies of scale don't just exist for corporations.


RE: Cool
By Lord 666 on 11/14/2007 5:03:58 PM , Rating: 3
Coming from a single parent upbringing, I can speak for experience on this one.

Father walked out on us before I entered middle school, bringing the remaining family from well off to dirt poor. My mother worked three jobs so we could attend private school. By the time I entered college my mother had worked it down to two jobs and a decent roof over our head. Sure, we didn't go on vacations, but she tried her best so we went with some nice things. We grew up without our mother ever being around so it accelerated resposibility and maturity.

What did I learn from that? Hard work pays off, marriage is sacred, and ambition and drive can come from anger and hate. Sure others mileage may vary, but its not about the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog.


RE: Cool
By FITCamaro on 11/14/2007 3:22:53 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
50% of all pregnancies are unplanned


Unplanned and outside of marriage are two different things. You can be married and have an unplanned pregnancy.

As far as the number of pregnancies outside of marriage, most are a disaster. We've got 14-17 year olds getting pregnant these days. This is not a good thing. No it's not the babies fault. But if its parents had been smarter, it wouldn't have existed to start with.

That said I'm against abortion. You made the mistake. You live with the consequences. The kid shouldn't suffer for your act of stupidity.


RE: Cool
By TomZ on 11/14/2007 3:33:43 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
The kid shouldn't suffer for your act of stupidity.

That could be used as an argument either for or against abortion, couldn't it? :o)

There are a lot of people who believe that abortion has helped to solve a lot of serious social problems, for example the theory that the drop in crime in the 1990's was related to the legalization of abortion in the United States.

And if you think about it, bringing unwanted children into the world is not exactly a very good situation either. The outcome for those children is typically pretty bad in general.


RE: Cool
By Ringold on 11/14/2007 3:43:31 PM , Rating: 2
I think the kicker is in where one decides to draw the line at abortion; at what week does it go from ethical to murder? Brain stem activity, according to wiki, shows up starting around 54 days; some women may not even be sure they're pregnant at that point.

Of course, could say that once the process is started, being that the natural outcome is a child without intervention then at any week its murder, but society has moved much too far in favor of abortion to ever look at it like that again.

At any rate, once it crosses societies magical dateline of death, what ever that may be, I would say that there really arent many fates worse than death.

As for the women that try to get abortions all the way out in the 3rd trimester, I say abort the women, but that's just me.


RE: Cool
By clovell on 11/14/2007 3:46:04 PM , Rating: 1
> As for the women that try to get abortions all the way out in the 3rd trimester, I say abort the women, but that's just me.

Agreed.


RE: Cool
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 11/14/2007 7:01:59 PM , Rating: 2
Until the fetus can live on its own without the mother its nothing more than a parasite. Parasites can be removed if the host deems it necessary. The fetus is no different than any other paraside that dies when we medically remove it from the host (Worms, etc...). People pose moral dilema's, but the details in regards to abortion is pretty clear cut from a medical and scientific point of view.


RE: Cool
By TomZ on 11/14/2007 7:11:43 PM , Rating: 2
Referring to an unborn child as a "parasite" is prety cold. Technically a child is a "parasite" even after birth, if you choose to look at it that way.

I'm guessing you're not a parent... :o)


RE: Cool
By Master Kenobi (blog) on 11/14/2007 8:57:14 PM , Rating: 2
I just don't let my paternal emotions get in the way of logic.


RE: Cool
By Parhel on 11/14/2007 8:19:39 PM , Rating: 2
That's inaccurate. Parasites, by definition, are of different species from the host organism. In addition, a one year old child couldn't live on his or her own without the mother. Would you then go so far as to say that "aborting" a born infant is morally neutral as well?


RE: Cool