Filing for Divorce
Filing for divorce is an emotional process for many people, but it's also a legal one governed by strict procedural requirements. A divorce petition may be more complicated than the average person expects, since it is required to allege things you might never think about, like the jurisdiction of the court in which the petition is filed.
Jurisdiction generally depends on the state and county in which one or both of the divorcing parties lives, but different states have different residency requirements-in many states, there is a minimum period of residence within the state (and perhaps within the county) before the court has jurisdiction to hear a divorce case.
The logical first step for a person considering divorce is to talk to a local divorce attorney. A local divorce attorney can explain issues like jurisdiction, and can also tell you about the impact certain actions and decisions may have on the outcome of your case. Having that information in hand as early in the process as possible can help prevent mistakes that might affect the division of property, custody and visitation issues, and responsibility for debts.
The attorney then prepares a divorce petition and, perhaps, a motion for temporary orders. A divorce case officially begins when the divorce petition is filed with the court. The divorce petition must be prepared according to specific statutory requirements, and must contain specific allegations about the marriage of the parties, the residence of each party, the children of the marriage, and more.
The divorce petition must be served on your spouse. Service of process requirements in divorce cases differ from state to state. In some areas, the Sheriff's department may serve the divorce petition on your spouse, while in others you may have to hire a private process server. Some jurisdictions allow for service by certified mail, and special options are provided for divorce petitioners who are unable to locate their spouses for service of process.
Your spouse has a specific time period within which to answer your petition. As with any civil lawsuit, the non-filing party (generally called the "Respondent" in divorce cases) has the opportunity to answer the petition, disputing or denying claims made in the petition. Factual issues like fault are not argued in detail at this stage; the responses are generally limited to admission or denial of the allegations in the divorce petition. The Respondent may also file a cross-petition at this stage, making his or her own allegations and requests.
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What happens next depends to a great degree on the complexity of the divorce case and the ability of the parties to agree on the terms of the divorce. Couples with minor children, with a lot of debts and assets to be sorted out, and with tense relationships are generally more likely to proceed to contested divorce proceedings or lengthy negotiations through their attorneys, while some will be able to reach an agreement on all outstanding issues and proceed uncontested.