Every divorce begins with a divorce petition. The petition is created by a spouse (called the petitioner) and gets served to the other party. The petition then is filed in the state court in the county in which one of the spouses lives. It doesn’t matter where the marriage took place. The petition comprises of important information in regard to the marriage. It includes the names of the husband, wife, and any children and details if there is any individual property or communal property, child custody, and child support or alimony.
Serving the Divorce Petition
The divorce papers are required to be served to the other party. This step of the proceeding is called “service of process.” If each party agrees to the divorce, the other party is only required to sign an acceptance of the receipt of service. Nevertheless, if the other declines to sign or is challenging to get a hold of, you could hire a process server to personally deliver the divorce papers to them. Finishing service of process begins the countdown of your state’s waiting time. It also places automatic restraining orders on each spouse and helps determine the date of separation. At this stage, the spouses are prohibited from taking any children out of state, put any property up for sale, borrow using the property, or sell or borrow against insurance that is held by the other party.
Divorce Petition Response
The other spouse is known the “respondent.” Even though it isn’t required, the respondent may file a response to the divorce papers stating they agree. By filing a response, it demonstrates both parties agree to the divorce. This makes it possible the case will progress devoid of a court hearing, that could hinder the process and be more expensive. Typically, if a response isn’t filed inside of 30 days, the petitioner may ask that the court enter a default. The responding spouse may also use the response to debate the details presented in the divorce papers.
Final Steps of a Divorce
Each spouse is required to disclose details concerning their assets, debts, income, and expenditures. If it is an uncontested divorce and the spouses agree on the conditions of the divorce, only a little more paperwork that needs to be filed. After the court enters a judgment, the divorce is complete. Nevertheless, the marriage isn’t formally terminated, and the spouses aren’t able remarry until the state’s waiting period is over. When there are disputes that can’t be resolved, a court hearing and possibly even a trial will be needed.
Source:
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“The Divorce Process.” Legalzoom.com, 19 Feb. 2019, www.legalzoom.com/knowledge/divorce/topic/divorce-process.
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