Posted by DivorceLine in Divorce Guide: How to get a Divorce
Divorce laws in US are controlled by Federal laws. Although the centre retains some powers related to divorce laws, it is the states that decide the basic divorce laws. Thus, how to get divorce differs from state to state. Divorce is a completely legal matter that involves lot of legal assistance especially when it comes to paper work.
The first step in starting a divorce is to file a divorce petition. In fact, even before filing the petition you need to hire a divorce lawyer who is the best person to tell you the intricacies of law and be with you till the end of divorce. If you want to do it yourself without the assistance of a lawyer then the other option is to buy online divorce services.
Initiating divorce requires a lot of paperwork in terms of filling up forms. These forms can either be obtained from your lawyer or downloaded from the State Government’s Judiciary website. If you are going for an online divorce, then these forms will be available on the law firm’s website.
Each state has different divorce forms. In fact, each case qualifies for a separate form. For example, if there is no issue of child custody involved in your case then your form will be different from the paper that involves child custody issues. It’s better to tell details of the case to your lawyer so that he/she can help you obtain the exact divorce form for initiating the case.
Because, each state has different instructions regarding how to get divorce, the format of forms also differs. However, the purpose of all the forms is to extract the information that is crucial to your divorce case. The form is designed to capture the necessary information related to your divorce. You have to provide details like whether you want child custody, whether you want alimony, how much share you want in property, visitation issues, and other matters related to your divorce.
Filling up the form is a step that needs a lot of attention. If you have hired a lawyer, then it’s advisable to fill up the details with his/her consent. Whatever details you put there will be regarded as final for processing your divorce. In case you are doing it online, make sure that a competent lawyer is checking the details that you have filled up in the form.
After filling up the petition form, the divorce case is initiated in the state’s court. If you have initiated the divorce then you fill up the form as a “petitioner”, and your spouse becomes the “defendant”. The court asks both the parties to submit important documents in order to support the details that you have submitted in the form. For example, papers related to your salary or property in order to substantiate your cause for alimony, child support, and so on. This process is known as Discovery. In this process the court also interrogates both the parties and requests for admission of fact.
The court then gives a chance to mediate and negotiate the issues involved in the case. However, if there is no positive outcome of this mediation, then the court holds Trial. After the trial, the court issues the divorce decree stating who gets what.
This was a brief overview of how to get divorce. As you see, divorce is a complicated and time taking process. The first step of filling up the divorce form is most crucial as that is the base of a sound divorce petition.
