The steps to a divorce can be an upsetting time but ones that will be guided by lawyers experienced in the legalities and the emotions the different parties will experience.
If you look at the website for The Law Offices of Dorie A. Rogers, you can discover more about the legal services that are offered which will help those divorcing.
Filing a Divorce Petition
Whether both spouses agree to a divorce or not, the process can still be started. One of the spouses will file a petition that asks the court to terminate their marriage.
There will be a statement that informs the state that one or both spouses meet the state’s residency requirements, as well as details of the legal reasons or grounds for a divorce. Also included will be statutory information that the state will require.
Asking for Temporary Orders
As a parent, you can, for instance, ask for temporary court orders in respect of child custody and support to be granted. This is because courts understand that it is not possible for many couples involved in a divorce to wait for the 6 months that the whole divorce procedure might take to conclude.
Serve Spouse and Wait for Response
After a petition is filed and there is a request for temporary orders, a copy of this paperwork will need to be provided to the other spouse as file proof of service with a court.
Proof of service is a document that informs a court that someone divorcing their spouse has met the statutory requirements.
Service of process will only prove easy where a spouse agrees and has a willingness to sign the service acknowledgement. The other spouse can, however, make things complicated, for which a divorce lawyer will be prepared.
Negotiate Settlement
There will, in many cases, be differing opinions regarding important topics, such as childcare. This process will be about reaching an agreement between both spouses on what is to happen. Courts will sometimes schedule a settlement conference for this to take place. The parties, accompanied by their divorce lawyers, will attend.
Divorce Trial
Negotiations can fail despite the best efforts of both spouses to reach an agreement in terms of finances and future childcare arrangements. This is where the court can be asked for help and the divorce case will go to trial. This can be a costly and very time-consuming affair and will be one that takes power away from both spouses and then places that power in the hands of a judge. A degree of control can be maintained where there are negotiations and mediation sessions when it comes to a trial producing more predictable results.
Finalize Judgement
In the final judgement, a judge will decide on the significant issues that will affect the parties to a divorce.
The last step then happens when the judge signs the order of dissolution (or judgement of divorce) and ends the marriage. This document will spell out all the specifics and so how a couple will, in the future, be allocated their parenting time and custodial responsibilities. This includes child and spousal support. It extends to how couples will divide their assets, or indeed debts.
It is always best to call on the services of an experienced divorce lawyer to ensure the best settlement. Many factors will need to be considered with a divorce, and more so when there are children involved. Any settlement will then need to take into account the emotional and financial needs of children. It will not just be about the financial position that the spouses are to be left in. A divorce share will acknowledge previous contributions to family budgets but also the ability to contribute when there were children to look after.
It can be a scary process – trying to get a divorce, and even more so at this time of the year, These are all good tips.