Divorce isn’t fun, no matter how many hit songs are written about it. Getting one isn’t a carnival ride, but it doesn’t have to make you puke either.
To get back your joie de vivre, I have researched Maryland’s top 10 online divorce companies.
Read on to learn more.
1. My Top Pick: 3 Step Divorce – 9.45/10 (Best Maryland Online Divorce Service)
The most obvious choice for getting a divorce online in the state of Maryland is 3 Step Divorce. You won’t be blown away at the look of their website, but 3 Step Divorce guarantees the court will approve your divorce papers.
Pros
Prepare yourself for feelings of contentment and relaxation, because 3 Step Divorce offers a lot of those feel-good moments.
First, their system is effortless and simple. Even their online forms are quick and easy to fill out. You can be finished in less time than it takes to decide what to watch on Netflix.
It gets better. If you and your spouse have struggled to reach mutual consent, you can use 3 Step Divorce’s online negotiation tool. You can download, print, sign, and deliver the divorce forms to your local courthouse all on the same day.
You can log into your account and make adjustments as you see fit. Download and print the forms any time, for an unlimited amount of times. If you don’t have a printer, 3 Step Divorce will post your forms at no extra cost.
They provide clear instructions and even guide you to the nearest circuit court. If you have any questions, their customer support is available in real time.
With 3 Step Divorce, you can even get a military divorce, and you can rest easy at night knowing they are private and secure, provide tons of free helpful information, comply with Maryland law, and have no hidden fees.
By far, 3 Step Divorce’s best feature is their 100% guarantee to have your papers accepted by the court.
Why? Because it means you only have to do this once, then you can get on with your life and tend to your responsibilities faster.
They offer a few different ways to pay. You can pay $299 all at once or pay $84 per month. If you finish your forms in one day, you get $50 off your purchase price.
Cons
There is much to adore about 3 Step Divorce, yet it isn’t free of drawbacks.
Their website isn’t aesthetically pleasing. It’s like old McDonalds buildings, outdated and prime for renovation. No, it doesn’t impact the user experience, but it does leave something to be desired.
Another not-so-superb con is how 3 Step Divorce doesn’t offer everything under the sun. For example, for usually a pretty steep upgrade fee, other companies will serve your spouse for you.
3 Step Divorce offers a one-size-fits-all package, no more, no less. This strength is also a potential weakness because you might be willing to pay for more services.
Overall
3 Step Divorce is my #1 recommendation for getting a successful divorce online because they offer plenty of services at a reasonable price.
They don’t have the nicest website, but that doesn’t impact user experience.
The best part about 3 Step Divorce is that they guarantee the court will approve your forms.
If you’re ready to move on with your life, head to 3 Step Divorce now.
2. Runner Up: It’s Over Easy – 7.85/10 (Expensive for an Online Divorce in Maryland, but Comprehensive)
It’s Over Easy provides services that no other provider on this list does, and they do it at a steep cost.
For double the price of 3 Step Divorce, they’ll send an email to your spouse on your behalf.
Where the service really stands out is their Premium package, though this will set you back $2500.
Pros
It’s Over Easy was initiated by a celebrity divorce specialist named Laura Wasser and it caters to those who can afford the finer things in life.
Their basic package allows you to finish up your divorce forms, save them to your device, and serve your spouse via email. It’s the Premium package where they really bump up the services.
The Premium package offers a whole host of services. You get a dedicated case manager to help you with your forms, file your papers with the court on your behalf, and pay for the court filing fee. You’ll enjoy the convenience of signing all forms electronically. You can also create a custom parenting plan with your spouse, negotiating things like child support and child custody.
Cons
As with anything, you get what you pay for and this rings true of It’s Over Easy.
Their basic package is more than double that of 3 Step Divorce and the only difference in service is that they serve your spouse via email.
If you want all the extra goodies, you’re looking to spend $2500.
Overall
It’s Over Easy offers what 3 Step Divorce just can’t because they are a premium service.
Their prices are the most expensive compared to the other online divorce providers. However, if you’re willing to pay, you are also getting the most services.
To use their services, check them out here.
3. Rocket Lawyer – 7.3/10 (Best Budget Option for Uncontested Divorce in Maryland)
Rocket Lawyer comes with stellar services, but backfires with some pretty weighted drawbacks.
Pros
What’s neat about Rocket Lawyer is that they are a generalized lawyer advice service. Specialists of the law are at your beck and call when transacting with Rocket lawyer.
Rocket Lawyer offers a budget-friendly monthly subscription at $39. You can also sit down for a 30-minute consultation with a qualified lawyer from Rocket Lawyer’s law firm.
Still not convinced? Well, Rocket Lawyer is the sole company on this list of online divorce services to set you up with a lawyer and provide top-notch legal advice.
Cons
But there’s no perfect company out there, and Rocket Lawyer is not free from cons.
Despite their authentic presence and knowledge of Maryland law, Rocket Lawyer does not exclusively offer online divorce services. You are expected to know enough about the documents, requirements, and general procedure of filing a divorce complaint.
How certain are you that the court will accept your documents? That’s all on you, because Rocket Lawyer does not guarantee acceptance.
Overall
Rocket Lawyer offers some of the industry’s best legal advice, but significantly lacks in handling a particular Maryland divorce case.
Rocket Lawyer provides some rare opportunities for clients filing for divorce, like the chance to consult with a lawyer regarding their case. Most online divorce services don’t have such an offer.
However, the divorce forms are a challenge to fill out all on your own. While Rocket Lawyer does not guarantee you will receive the approval of the Maryland court, for only $39 a month, Rocket Lawyer is your best affordable option.
4. Divorce Writer
Landing at fourth place is Divorce Writer. Divorce Writer offers the standard services of an online divorce service provider, with a glaring drawback you need to carefully consider.
Divorce Writer’s online system lets you do the paperwork, and revise whenever necessary for up to two years.
Not to mention, Divorce Writer guarantees some of the lowest prices in the market. They may just fit the bill if you are struggling with financial needs.
But I cannot emphasize more just how tacky the customer support is.
Customer support is important because they can answer your questions about specific law terms that a non-lawyer may not understand at all. Divorce Writer ruins their otherwise reliable services.
Divorce Writer generally relies on email for customer support concerns. But email lacks the real-time aspect of chat or telephone services. If you want to plan out your divorce with Divorce Writer, prepare yourself for an extended waiting period between you, the service provider, and the other spouse.
5. LegalZoom
LegalZoom is a legal advice provider that has also entered the grounds of the online divorce industry.
LegalZoom packages itself as a simple and thorough service provider. Filing for divorce online and taking care of the necessary forms and documents are typical.
What’s not typical is the fact that LegalZoom allows a lawyer to go over your paperwork and ensure the cohesiveness of the divorce complaint.
LegalZoom is a competent company, but the services come with a hefty price tag. Unless you have $499 to spare, other companies are worth considering.
Lawyers also take their painstakingly slow time reviewing documents. You have to wait for 48 hours before you can access your own forms. Besides, it isn’t a requirement for a lawyer to review your documents for the initial complaint and it doesn’t guarantee the court’s approval.
6. One Stop Divorce
The sixth best provider of online divorce in Maryland is One Stop Divorce. One Stop Divorce features a hassle-free system and procedure for filing for divorce, with some questionable product offerings.
One Stop Divorce is perfect for clients who want a speedy and simple divorce process. The package costs $299, a reasonable price for comprehensive services.
On the website you can log in, take care of the necessary paperwork, and have them printed out as soon as you’re ready. You can immediately turn in your documents to the circuit court and file for divorce.
And now, the rest . . .
I’ll be frank here. Not all companies are out to help you with your divorce process. In fact, they may not even be capable of distinguishing absolute divorce from limited divorce!
The professionalism and experience in handling divorce complaints sets these companies below the aforementioned ones. I’m telling you, you are in for a cringe fest when you read about these money-grubbers.
7. Complete Case
Complete Case appears enticing at first, but be careful: you might just earn more stress than ever with this company.
First, their website is not compatible with all Internet browsers. Seriously, just how outdated is their online system?
Second, you can’t download your forms. Complete Case mails them to you instead. There goes the chance for correcting mistakes, I guess.
Lastly, talking to customer support is worse than talking to a wall. Sure, I had an easy time with Complete Case, but some clients beg to differ.
8. MyDivorcePapers.com
For the cheap price of MyDivorcePapers, you receive cheaper quality of services. They don’t offer anything striking or significant.
In fact, their forms are outdated. No court would accept your papers at this point.
Well, you can always consider traveling back in time to circa 1995 to file for divorce. Maybe then MyDivorcePapers would be a helpful service provider.
9. OnlineDivorce.com
OnlineDivorce.com is another online divorce service provider that lands at the bottom ranks. Wanna know why?
They earned a negative reputation with all the bad feedback clients leave. They function like any online divorce service provider, but the one-star reviews will chase you away.
10. GetDivorcePapers
GetDivorcePapers is another business plagued with 64% one-star reviews and negative customer experiences. The overpriced fees aren’t helping them, either. At this point, they should be out of business, yet they’re still part of the industry.
Give yourself peace of mind during troubling times and stay away from GetDivorcePapers.
The Bottom Line
Having analyzed, reviewed, and experienced first-hand 10 different online divorce services, it’s as clear as day that 3 Step Divorce is the best.
Their no-brainer online system is so easy and comfortable to use, you wouldn’t even feel bad for filing a divorce. Customer support is always ready to assist, and accomplishing forms is as easy as pie.
3 Step Divorce is here for your happiness.
Methodology
To find out which online divorce service caters the best to clients petitioning for divorce in Maryland, I sorted out a process of looking into different companies.
Step 1: Initial Online Divorce Service List
My first step started with a simple Google search for online uncontested divorce services.
Looking up “online divorce in Maryland,” my list started with 14 uncontested online divorce services. I excluded some whose services are only available in a few states.
Step 2: Online Reviews
I looked up the 14 companies’ reputations through multiple online reviews. And boy, was I in for a ride.
Past clients left mixed reviews, ranging from stellar five-star ratings to disappointed one-star reviews. In fact, over half of the reviews were unsatisfied and unhappy with their transactions.
Step 3: Product Analysis
I finally had a clear picture of which companies provide legitimate divorce services, and which are overpriced. The next step was to analyze the different services and product offerings these companies have under their name:
- Are they knowledgeable about the types of divorce in Maryland? Can they offer assistance for filing of absolute divorce and limited divorce?
- Do they know their way around Maryland divorce laws? Can they only provide guidance for legal separation?
- How was the experience filing divorce paperwork with them?
- Do they guide you all the way to the circuit court? Did the assistance end at accomplishing the divorce forms?
- Do they communicate with one spouse only? Or do they offer using a process server to have the forms delivered to the other spouse?
- Was the filing fee reasonable, or out of your budget?
- Do their forms abide by Maryland law?
- Will they help settle issues of concern between spouses, like division of property and marital property? Do they leave the settlement agreement and other compromises to your own discretion?
- Did they extend offers in settling child custody? Did they inquire about any minor or dependent children you and your spouse have?
- Can they give advice on child support and financial support?
- Did they present legal advice on the different grounds of divorce the court system would possibly look into?
- Can they guarantee the approval of the Maryland court, and view your reasons as valid ground of divorce?
- Will they assist you in facing a contested divorce? Can they get you and the other spouse to reach mutual consent for the divorce to push through?
Step 4: Contacting Customers
The time has come for me to reach out and meet with past clients of the different companies.
Cross-checking online testimonials and real-time sentiment is good practice to achieve a more critical perspective on things!
Initially, I assumed the disappointing reviews were a strategy to make their competitors look bad, but it wasn’t. Some businesses’ services were just that bad. Some clients even wished they could leave zero stars if possible.
Step 5: Interviews with Online Divorce Services in Maryland
I took it upon myself to set up interview sessions with marketing teams of the online divorce services on my list. It’s just fair that I also hear their side of things, isn’t it?
So I asked them about their current strategy of providing online access to divorce in Maryland. I laid out questions about their services and the feedback they received from their clients.
These marketing representatives were definitely surprised by my flurry of queries, but I was a man on a mission, okay?
Companies that are, undoubtedly, ranking high consider their flaws to improve their services. On the other hand, some companies blame their clients for not properly comprehending their process.
Step 6: Test Drives
Yes, I wanted to know what it was like to file a divorce complaint online. And that is the sixth step in my process.
Did you guys know I had to “divorce” my dear wife? Just to see the real action of different online systems under the jurisdiction of Maryland law, my wife and I went through about ten divorce attempts (I love you, darling, please don’t kick me out of the house).
Generally, filing for a complaint online requires some basic information, like my name and address. I also had to list my assets, dependents, and other things that typically bind two spouses in a marriage.
Step 7: Ratings
Finally, I have reached the last step in my work process: rating the online divorce services on my list.
I considered different factors in ranking these companies, such as transparency of business, client feedback and satisfaction, professionalism, and the costs of their products.
Best Maryland Online Divorce Review Summary
Online divorce services are a great help to spouses stuck in unhappy marriages. As long as they abide by Maryland divorce laws, these businesses are free to extend their services to residents of the state.
In my search for the best uncontested divorce services provider, countless rounds of “divorce” happened between me and my wife. I began with 14 services, and narrowed my analysis to 10.
Three outstanding businesses earned a top-three review from me, with 3 Step Divorce coming in first place.
3 Step Divorce offers top-of-the-line services across all 50 US states to make filing a divorce complaint easy and accessible. Their online system is easy to understand and doing the paperwork is a breeze.
At $299, you get value-packed services:
- Accessible system and customer support
- Immediate access to your own forms
- Extensive revisions allowed
- Mutual consent between you and the other spouse through an innovative online negotiation tool
- Archive of resources to help you in the divorce process
- 100% court acceptance rate
Don’t hold yourself back. Reach out for the next chapter in life, and accomplish your divorce with 3 Step Divorce.
The Best Online Divorce Services Around The United States
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