Wichita ? BTK serial killer Dennis Rader plans to act as his own lawyer in wrongful-death lawsuits filed by the families of his 10 victims.

Rader filed a notice of his intention Thursday to represent himself “pro se,” a legal term that means he plans to go to court without a lawyer.

Mark Hutton, a lawyer representing two relatives of the victims, said Rader’s legal filing was well done.

“I’ve got to tell you, the legal pleading he’s setting forth is picture perfect,” Hutton said. “It’s done properly, it’s well spaced, he uses the phrase ‘pro se’ in italics.

Jailhouse lawyers with no legal training don’t typically file paperwork this well done.

“Either there’s an attorney incarcerated over there or a hotshot paralegal,” Hutton said. “Somebody is giving him some legal advice.”

In a courtroom confession last month, Rader, 60, said that sexual fantasies had driven him to kill 10 people in the Wichita area between 1974 and 1991. As BTK – his own moniker, which stands for “Bind, Torture, Kill” – he taunted media and police in communications that eventually led to his arrest. His sentencing is set for Aug. 17.

Since that confession, victim’s families have filed 10 lawsuits against Rader.

Rader has 20 days from the filing of each lawsuit to answer the charges. Had he taken no action, a default judgment would have been entered in the case.

On Tuesday, a judge waived the usual 60-day waiting period and granted Paula Rader an immediate divorce, agreeing that her mental health was in danger. He did not contest the divorce.