Even if you want to end your marriage peacefully, you must not underestimate the need to work with an attorney. The expert you hire will ensure that your rights and best interests are protected. He or she would also provide guidance to help you avoid making nasty mistakes.
The first step to getting a marriage dissolved is filing a case. The next step would involve formally serving your spouse with the petition. In some states, one is required to get the paperwork delivered by the sheriffs office or a registered process server. In others, you could simply leave the petition at your partners residence or getting served through a certified mail service.
Your partner will have at least 30 days to respond to the petition in a formal manner. In the response, he or she will reply to each and every point you rise and perhaps even give new demands. In the event where a formal response is not given within the recommended time, the courts will proceed to give a default judgment where all the terms of the initial petition will be legalized.
Even when dealing with uncontested divorce, the discovery process will be of utmost importance. This happens before negotiations and the partners involved must share relevant information about their finances, assets and debts. When dealing with an agreed divorce, most partners come clean and provide all the needed information.
Contentious divorce proceedings are time consuming not to mention very expensive. This is because a lot of resources are wasted when handling issues that can be avoided. For instance, couples who are bent on going for trial will not volunteer information during the discovery process. Money has to be used to do investigations and gather the needed information.
Finally, negotiations can start. Your attorney may advise you to go through a formal mediation process for you to find acceptable solutions for matters of spousal support, child custody, property division and also visitation rights. The best thing about uncontested proceedings is that they take place within an informal setting and it is easier for practical agreements to be made.
If both partners are ready to go for agreed divorce, some of the above mentioned steps will not be necessary. You can skip serving petitions, the discovery process and also negotiations. In this case, you simply need to file a joint petition and ultimately schedule for a court date.
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