Online Uncontested Divorce: Fact or Fiction?

So, is online divorce real?

Kind of. The honest answer is that "online divorce" describes two very different products that happen to share a name, the way "footlong" describes both a sandwich and a measurement. One version is real and works well; the other is mostly a way to pay $99 for a stack of forms. This article is about telling them apart.

The fiction: the national form mill

Type "online divorce" into a search engine and the first results will be national websites - operated by a company (term used loosely) headquartered maybe in Guam or Jamaica or some other location that will probably change three months later - promising a complete divorce for a suspiciously low price. Here is what actually happens: you answer a questionnaire, software mail-merges your answers into generic forms, and the forms are emailed to you. That's it. That's the product.

What the $99 does not include: a licensed Missouri attorney reviewing anything, knowledge of your county's local filing requirements, anyone actually filing the case, and anyone to call when the clerk's office rejects the paperwork. You remain, for all legal purposes, a pro se litigant - just one who paid a website first. The divorce itself was never "online"; only the form-filling was. And no, despite what certain websites imply, there is no button on the internet that dissolves a Missouri marriage - every divorce in this state ends with a real Judge signing a real Judgment in a real courthouse.

The fact: a real attorney, handled remotely

Now the version that's real. There is no requirement that hiring a divorce attorney involve mahogany furniture and multiple office visits. My office has accepted online submissions since 2013 - roughly 300 to 400 cases per year come in that way now - and the entire case can be handled by email, phone, and mail. You submit your information online, rough drafts arrive within two to three days, revisions happen by email within 24 hours, signatures get notarized wherever is convenient for you, and I file and monitor the case through to the Judgment. In the vast majority of cases, neither spouse ever appears in court.

In other words: the case is genuinely handled online (and by phone and mail), but there's an actual attorney - licensed in Missouri, findable at a fixed address in Sunset Hills since 2008 - preparing high-quality pleadings and answering when you call. The internet is the delivery method, not the lawyer.

How to tell the difference

A few questions cut through the marketing quickly. Is a specific, named attorney licensed in Missouri responsible for your case? Will that person file the case with the court, or just email you forms? Can you call them - and does anyone call back? Is the fee quoted down to the dollar, and does it cover revisions and the case being seen through to Judgment? Answer those four and you'll know which kind of "online divorce" you're looking at. (For a fuller version of this exercise, head over to the Dare to Compare page, where I run the matchup at length.)

The verdict

Online uncontested divorce: fact - provided "online" describes how you communicate with your attorney, rather than a substitute for having one.

Thank you for reading. Please feel free to contact me for more information.