hungryhorace

If your taxes are straightforward why not do it yourself?

md95065

Perhaps because it is simply not something that you want to spend time on.

Changing the oil in my car is straightforward and I could certainly do it myself and save some money but I choose to pay someone else to do it for me.

kimilseung

I never used a lawyer, so don't really know what is involved. However I assume that it makes it more complicated as its another set of hands that has to be involved. Does using a lawyer make it easier?

md95065

That depends on which things you, personally, find "easy" or "difficult" and the extent to which you do or do not want to spend your time doing them.

My point was simply that there are various trade-offs to consider when evaluating whether to do something oneself or pay someone else to it for you. Different people will make different decisions based on their specific circumstances and preferences.

Pulaski

Agreed, it is always a trade-off. I'll pay $6 for a sub rather than make my own sandwich, and $120 for a routine car service rather then change the oil and check the brakes etc. myself, but the fees (as reported here on BE) charged by attorneys for "assistance" in filing straightforward K-1/CR-1 visa applications are off the scale when it comes to cost v effort. IMO it would be like paying $150 for a sub or $2,000 for a basic car service.

S Folinsky

If one can do a 1040EZ or 1040A, then no help is needed. Add in Schedule A, B, C & SE, it becomes complicated. I feel competent to do them myself if I had to, I don't care to. I do review them before submission.

I feel most marriage cases are along the lines of the tax return I describe. And the complexity can go up from there.

BTW, when I was in practice, I would often have former green card clients come to see me re naturalization and I gave them a warning that my fees might make it not cost effective. If no intervening crimes or child support issues, usually I was not "needed" but would be a convenience. Many did their N-400 DIY and I did not mind -- in fact, they would often refer other green card cases to yours truly.

By the way, as wonderful as this forum, I do see a fair amount of misinformation. Most is fairly harmless and I don't bother to intervene. If it is serious and capable of doing real harm to people, I will speak up.