yvednesday, .dune 2, 1976
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
Page Three
Breaking up: Not so hard to do
By BARBARA ZAHS
Here's the ultimate project for the
real do-it-yourselfer: a do-it-yourself
divorce
The University's Student Legal Aid
Office has put together a kit contain-
ing explicit, step-by-step instructions on
how to sever matrimonial bonds.
THE PROCESS REQUIRES a mini-
mum amount of assistance from the
staff at Legal Aid. Clients can actually
handle most of the paperwork them-
selves.
"For the most part, it's good," ad-
ministrator Becky Ward said of the do-
it-yourself system.
If the instructions are followed care-
fully, "there shouldn't be any problems,"
she added.
IN ORDER TO QUALIFY for the do-
iourself divorces, prospective clients
most first meet certain criteria. They
mst be University students whose in-
comes do not fall above a specified level.
In addition, their spouses must not be
cotesting the divorce action, and child
stusy and property settlements must
hive already been reached.
Since Michigan has adopted a no-fault
divorce law, it is only necessary for the
plaintiff to show that the marriage has
Fight fire with fire
group of rookie firemen celebrat-
their graduation from the Orange
tunty Fire Academy in Costal Mesa,
i!f decided to retaliate when offisials
a: the South Coast Plaza Hotel asked
them to leave because they were get-
t1g too boistrous. One or more of the
firemen set off the fire alarm and sprink-
Il system, causing $1,000 worth of dam-
ae to three floors of the hotel. "Some
.ers may end before they even be-
said a spokesman of the rookies,
Sof whom had fled by the time six
1:.s trucks had arrived at the scene.
0
Rub it in
.1 1. Fingers' Foreman is 'rubbed out'
bu happy as the world record holder
for continuous massage. Perhaps in cele-
bation of the Bicentennial, Foreman,
completed 76 hours of massage on
more than 40 volunteers. He said he
isonid apply for entry into the Guiness
lII vk of World Records. Foreman has
apparently had a lot of experience in
the art of massage. He said he began
at age 7 when his grandmother, a Chero-
kee Indian, made him rub her ankles.
"She'd give me a smack with her cane
I t stopped," Foreman said.
Happenings
Tonight at 7 and 9:00, the Peo-
ple's Bicentennial Commission is pre-
serg Monty Python and the Holy
Grail, at MLB And. 3 ... at 7:30, the
Reformed Druids of North America in-
vite all interested to attend a service
on the lawn just east of Rackham.
Weather or not
Our skies will finally start to clear
u1 today as it will be mostly sunny
with a high of 70. Things will continue
to clear up and lows tonight will be
md, in the lower 50's. The rest of the
eek should be hot and muggy, as
emperatures wil get into the 80's.,..
broken down to the point where it is
not likely that it can be preserved.
After meeting with a Legal Aid work-
er to determine if they qualify, clients
are given the packet of divorce mate-
rials. The kit includes all of the legal
forms and information that the clients
will need.
THE CLIENTS FILL OUT the forms
themselves, then meet with Legal Aid's
staff attorney, who makes sure the
forms have been completed properly.
The attorney also explains the court
procedure to the clients.
When the divorce proceeding are fin-
ished, the clients meet with the -Legal
Aid worker for a final time to close out
the case.
If all goes well, the entire divorce
process for a childless couple may take
only three months. This includes the
60-day waiting period imposed by law
between the time a person files for di-
vorce and the time of the final court
hearing. For a couple with children
the process is somewhat longer.
ALTHOUGH CLIENTS are only re-
quired to meet with the Legal Aid staff
three times, many seek additional help.
"People generally are in contact with
us a lot more, just to get reassurance
and such," Ward said.
"We try to assure people that it
(divorce) is not going to be so bad,"
Ward remarked."
Sometimes people just need somebody
to talk to. We supply that as much as
we supply legal aid. We make sure
that people feel secure in doing it
themselves," she explained.
SINCE THE Legal Aid Office insti-
tuted the do-it-yourself program last Au-
gust, over 120 people have taken advan-
tage of the service. Ward said that mstot
have been happy with the results.
However, Ward admitted, "Attorneys
in town have not been very pleased
with the fact that we've been having
people do their own divorces. They fret
we're taking away their clientele."
But she added that local judges have
come to accept the do-it-yourself method.
THE WORKERS at Legal Aid like
the do-it-yourself system because It
helps ease the case load of the staff.
"We'd rather not burden the already-
overburdened law students and staff,"
Ward asserted. With the time saved by
clients who do their own paperwork,
staffers are now able to channel their
efforts into other areas.
But, more important, Ward said, the
do-it-yourself method helps clients "gain
confidence in the legal system and see
how it works."
Dailv Photo by SCOTT ECCKER
An Odd Couple
It was a chummy night at the Second Chance as British rock 'n rollers Herman's hermits- minus Ilerman-invited men-
hers of the audience up onto the stage to help sing the hermits' golden oldie "Mrs. Brown, you've got a lovely daughter."
The young concert-goer on tie right, as a newly-minted rock star, appears to be already searching out his groupies.
TEN CENT CALLS END-
Ma Bell adapts pay phones
DETROIT (UPI)-The 10-cent pay call
is about to become a thing of the past in
Michigan.
Michigan Bell Telephone Co. said yes-
terday it has begun the task of convert-
ing its 51,800 pay telephones from a 10-
cent to a 20-cent charge.
MORE than 100 company workers have
been assigned to the task, Michigan Bell
said. The conversion is expected to be
completed by Aug. 16 in the Detroit area
and by Oct. 11 throughout the rest of
Michigan.
Michigan Bell won approval to double
the charge for pay calls May 4 when
the state Public Service Commisison ap-
proved a $52.2 million general rate in-
crease for Michgan's largest telephone
company.
The last time coin phone rates were
changed was in 1952 when the charge
went from a nickel to a dime.
"WE'VE HELD the line for almost a
quarter of a century," said David Wen-
ger, Michigan Bell vice president. "There
are very few services today with that
kind of track record."
With the new 20-cent charge, Wenger
said, coin phone rates will be brought
to "almost a break-even point." In its ap-
plication with the PSC, Michigan Bell
said it costs the company 20.6 cents to
handle each local coin call.
TO MAKE the conversion from a 10-
cent to a 20-cent charge, a Michigan
Bell employe will make adjustments on
each of the 51,800 pay stations.
Where a new-type single-slot coin tele-
phone is already installed, the employ
will simply modify the phone so that it
requires 20 cents to make a local call
instead of 10 cents. But where older
three-slot telhpones are in use, the em-
ploye will install a new single-slot coin
phone modified for the 20-cent charge.
As each coin telephone is converted,
it will be marked with a 20-cent coin
sticker near the coin slot on the dal
instruction card so that telephone users
will he aware of the higher charge.