My name is Richard Perque. I’m an attorney and former appointed judge, and DivorcePlus is my brainchild. After 15 years of working in the legal system, I have seen firsthand how stressful and confusing the process of divorce can be, and I wanted to create a comprehensive resource for those struggling with divorce.
I envisioned an internet-based platform that offered access to both relevant public resources and a wealth of professional services for individuals, couples, and families facing divorce and everything that goes with it.
With centralized educational materials and legal information, free legal forms, a community forum, and virtual, on-demand access to a range of legal professionals, DivorcePlus is designed to help everyday people take control of a tumultuous situation. It aims to provide everything those going through a divorce need to accomplish their personal goals.
What drove me to create DivorcePlus? What sets this platform apart from other divorce resources? Here’s what you need to know about the history and philosophy behind DivorcePlus.
My Personal Divorce Experience
My story begins with my parents, who were committed to the welfare of their four children. I, the eldest child, was 15 when my parents decided to separate. A year later, they were divorced.
However, my mother and father made a choice to co-parent amicably and put the needs of their kids first.
The result was a stable and supportive environment where holidays and important events were shared. A flexible custody arrangement allowed our family unit to thrive, albeit between two households.
After I left for college, my parents both remarried, and all of the adults involved maintained close and cordial relationships, sharing family milestones as a group and offering continued love and support to each other.
While divorce is never ideal for parents or children, I was lucky enough to enjoy a situation where my parents remained kind, cooperative, and committed to easing the transition for their family.
A Focus on Law
With such inspirational role models in his life, it was no surprise that I elected to follow in my mother’s footsteps and pursue a career in the legal field. After completing law school, I joined the family firm with my mother, uncle, and grandfather, all of whom served in mentorship roles and endeavored to help me find my calling.
It wasn’t long before I developed a focus on family law and found myself taking on more than half of the domestic cases that came to the firm. I quickly realized that my past experience with divorce was not the norm, as I encountered contentious couples mired in distrust and animosity.
Worse, I discovered that many divorcing people were fighting an uphill battle against misinformation and confusion about the legal process, causing even more stress and heartache.
I developed great compassion for my clients, who were trapped in a process that they often didn’t understand and that was sometimes thrust on them. I realized that my job as their attorney was not just to offer legal advice and services but also to help them navigate the complex process of dissolving a relationship and moving forward with their lives.
Expanding My Legal Wheelhouse
As I progressed in my career, I grew to understand that each couple faced unique challenges during the divorce process, and I started to work with a range of related professional service providers.
I became familiar with mediators, custody evaluators, and parenting coordinators and learned how these professionals could help my clients. I also found that many clients were just as unaware of these services as I had been prior to entering the legal field.
Most people are lost when it comes to divorce. In many cases, the clients seeking my help didn’t know when to take legal action, or what action to take. Some wanted to avoid conflict at all costs, while others were ready to wage war over even the smallest issues.
With a bespoke approach to the process that integrated the expertise of an array of professionals, I aimed to help clients find the pathway that best served their individual needs and led them toward the outcomes they desired.
A Call to Help Those Struggling with Divorce
After 15 years primarily as a family law attorney, I was appointed by the Louisiana Supreme Court as a judge, watching cases unfold from the other side of the bench. I began to develop a new perspective.
Over the years, I have seen that most individuals facing divorce lack a full understanding of the complex process in which they are involved.
Unfortunately, there is a serious lack of comprehensive resources for individuals, couples, and families struggling with divorce. While there is certainly a wealth of information available online, finding the right information, much less professional services, could be tricky and prove incredibly overwhelming.
I began to envision a platform designed to make the process easier, with centralized public resources and on-demand professional services covering the gamut of needs for divorcing couples. This was the beginning of DivorcePlus.
Providing Relevant Public Resources
Knowledge is power, and for anyone facing the challenges of divorce, access to the right knowledge can help ease stress, save time and money, and generate positive outcomes. No two divorces are exactly alike, and even well-intentioned advice from trusted family and friends can fall short of being relevant and useful.
While there’s no set path for divorce proceedings, there are steps to be taken and choices to be made. You deserve to have the resources you need during this difficult time in life, and the best place to start is with focused research regarding your unique situation.
DivorcePlus offers a range of free, public resources designed to help individuals and couples find the best path forward, whether that means filling out the right forms to file for divorce, creating agreements for child custody or the division of assets, hiring a legal team, working with a mediator, or anything else.
This platform is designed to help users understand the legal process, set goals, and achieve them, starting with providing information those seeking divorce might not even realize they need.
We offer several free public resources on the DivorcePlus platform, including relevant blogs and articles written by industry professionals. Visitors can also access DIY legal forms for state domestic and family law purposes. Finally, there’s a community forum where anyone can ask specific questions about their legal situation and get answers from legal professionals, saving time and money.
Access to Professional Services
With the right information, anyone facing divorce can decide the best way to proceed. While some amicable couples can manage the process on their own by filling out DIY forms and submitting an agreement to the court for approval, many spouses need some professional help to get through the process.
DivorcePlus offers virtual, on-demand access to a range of related services and service providers, including:
- Lawyer consultations
- Legal Form assistance
- Life and divorce coaching
- Parenting and custody evaluation, preparation, and consulting
- Parenting coordination
- Divorce advocacy and support
- Testimony and witness preparation and consulting
- Mediation services
- Health and self-care resources
- Other related professional services
Some people may require only one or two services, while others may ultimately take advantage of several in the course of a challenging divorce.
Lawyer Consultation
It’s not unusual to struggle with the question of whether to hire a divorce attorney. Many people would prefer to avoid the hassle and expense of going to court, not to mention letting a judge decide the outcome. In such cases, they might not think they need a lawyer.
That’s why consultations are so important. This process can allow someone not only to choose a lawyer best suited to help them reach their goals but also to decide whether they even need the assistance of a legal professional.
Family law specialists offer all kinds of guidance and support beyond legal services, including advocacy and advice. Consulting with a lawyer is a great way for individuals to find the services that are just right for their needs.
Mediation
Plenty of couples try to remain amicable and avoid court, but they simply can’t negotiate an agreement on their own. With emotions running high, it’s only natural to let feelings of grief, anger, and frustration derail rational conversations.
This is where a trained and experienced mediator can help — through patience, understanding, and a commitment to helping both parties reach a mutually beneficial agreement. The advantages include reduced costs, a faster timeline, and greater satisfaction on both sides.
Custody and Parenting Assistance
Wading through issues like custody and co-parenting can be especially difficult for divorcing couples, who generally want to do what’s best for their kids but are struggling with the prospect of losing out on parenting time or decision-making power.
Parents can find support from professionals who help them prepare for custody evaluations, as well as those specializing in co-parenting through conflict and more.
Self-Care and Personal Well-Being
Divorce can eat up a lot of time and energy, and the process can last weeks, months, or even years, depending on the complexity of the situation and the willingness of both parties to speed the process along. Those coping with the emotional strain and logistical hurdles of divorce may have little left to devote to self-care.
That said, it is possible to weather the process and come out of it feeling healthy, confident, and ready to face a new future. With help from experts in health, wellness, and self-care, anyone going through a divorce can reduce stress and bolster their body and soul.
DivorcePlus Offers End-to-End Solutions
When I created DivorcePlus, it was because I saw a gap in available resources for individuals and couples seeking divorce information and services and felt called to fill that gap with a platform offering comprehensive public resources and access to on-demand professional services.
DivorcePlus delivers education and assistance designed to demystify the legal process, so anyone can approach this difficult situation with greater knowledge, understanding, and confidence, reaching their goals for positive outcomes in the process.
Have you reached a point in your marriage where you feel divorce is the only option? Has your spouse surprised you by filing for divorce, or was it a mutual decision? Whatever your circumstance, you’ll find everything you need to get started or move ahead with DivorcePlus. Contact us today to learn more.
