The Constitution of the United States protects your right to represent yourself in court. You can represent yourself, which is called "pro se," a latin term meaning "for oneself."
Unfortunately, representing yourself can be at your own peril. As you have the choice between many lawyers, the only benefit I see to representing yourself is to save money, which most anyone can appreciate the necessity of at times.
However, the following are some reasons I do not recommend taking on a case without at least consulting with a family law (divorce) lawyer first:
1. You will still be responsible for knowing the court's standard operating procedures, just as any other lawyer.
Courts operate under a strict operating procedure which includes complex rules, in order to maintain order in the judicial process. You will be expected to follow this procedure. There is no guidebook to learning this procedure. There is a reason lawyers have gone to law school, and are there to protect and represent your interests. If you don't know the process, it can be a longer, time-consuming process, where you may end up losing your case because you don't know how to best defend and represent yourself.
2. The other party may have a lawyer.
Why is this bad for you? This means that they have an experienced, trained person representing their interests. I would recommend you have the same. In divorce, you are often dealing with your children and custody issues, property, and everything you have built as an estate together since getting married. This is your entire livelihood. It is certainly not something to take lightly. It would certainly be scary to face another attorney, who knows the rules, the defenses, and the exact process that is to be followed when dealing with such important matters in your life.
3. You wouldn't perform your own surgery.
Just as a doctor has been trained to investigate your medical conditions, diagnose, and help you get through something, a lawyer has been trained the same way for legal issues. You wouldn't consider performing surgery on yourself if surgery was necessary. You would consult a doctor. You should always consult a lawyer if you have legal questions. Even if you don't ultimately hire them, a lawyer can guide you through the process, diagnose the issues in your case, and help you by representing your interests to the best of their ability.
4. There are other options.
What do you do if you can't afford the retainer a lawyer in Montana quotes you?
You can always have a one-time consultation for guidance from a lawyer. You can also hire a lawyer for limited scope representation (you can see my previous blog on this topic), which will allow you to hire a lawyer for assistance on specific pieces of your case, rather than the entire matter. This will save you money, and you will still be representing yourself.
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