Limited Assistance Representation

Limited Assistance Representation or commonly called LAR is where an attorney is retained for a limited task such as to review a divorce agreement, prepare a divorce agreement, prepare a pretrial memorandum or prepare a financial statement. It is not a process that is designed to replace the representation of a litigant to do the entire case. This avenue works well for people who do mediation, and require an attorney to review a divorce agreement and prepare the paperwork to process the case in the courts.

If you have a contested divorce action or a contested modification of a divorce after the Judgment of divorce enters, then LAR is not designed to replace an attorney or be an inexpensive replacement of legal representation. In any contested matter, full representation is preferable. But where most of the matter is resolved, such as after mediation, then LAR is an ideal way to complete the divorce process, especially with a limited budget.

If you choose to represent yourself, which is difficult to do well or even adequately, then the court will require you to be prepared and follow all of the same rules that an attorney would be required to follow. There is an old saying, a person who represents himself or herself, has a fool for a client. Having said that, if you do choose to represent yourself, it would make sense for you to retain an attorney to prepare some portions of your case, in which event LAR may be a possibility, albeit not the best possibility, but certainly better than your preparing the paperwork yourself inadequately and losing your case even if it is a case with merit.