Determine your state’s laws about legal separation. State-specific laws regarding separation can be found here: http://www. hg. org/divorce-legal-separation. html. Consider the requirements of your state-specific law and negotiate with your spouse regarding the terms of your separation. Draft a separation agreement. Such agreement must comply with state law. A sample separation agreement can be found at: http://family. findlaw. com/divorce/sample-separation-agreement. html. If necessary under your state law, file your agreement with the designated state court. [2] X Research source
You are comfortable filing court documents and negotiating with your spouse. The parties are amicable, willing to work together, and mutually agree to pursue divorce. The assets to be divided do not include significant property. Your spouse is not hiring an attorney. You do not have any children. [3] X Research source
Both parties share financial information freely and voluntarily. You and your spouse hope to maintain privacy regarding the terms of the divorce, rather than negotiating in court. You want help facilitating discussions about the plan for parenting and custody. You seek a lower-cost divorce. Even if you use a mediator to facilitate negotiations, you should consider hiring an attorney to review the settlement before it is finalized. [4] X Research source
The decision to divorce is mutual and the terms are not contentious. You and your spouse agree to a collaborative process. Both attorneys agree not to represent the parties in any divorce litigation. You and your spouse are willing to share all relevant documents and information. The parties agree to act in the best interest of their children, if any, and to avoid bargaining over the children as part of the divorce negotiations. [6] X Research source
You suspect that your spouse is hiding assets or not disclosing accurate financial information. You anticipate that the divorce will be contentious. There is a dispute about who will get custody of your children. You are not comfortable completing and filing court documents. Your spouse has hired an attorney. [7] X Research source
Referral from family or friends. Ask the person whether they would recommend the attorney that handled their divorce. Personal recommendations are a good way to identify high quality attorneys. Legal bar associations. Many local and state bar associations provide referral services to help you identify attorneys in your area. You can check, through state bar associations, whether any complaints have been filed against your prospective attorney. For a list of state-by-state resources to identify attorney referral sites (including state bar associations), visit the American Bar Association website at: http://apps. americanbar. org/legalservices/findlegalhelp/home. cfm
On what grounds can I file for divorce? Some states have “no fault” divorce, which means that you do not have to prove that either spouse did something wrong. Some spouses may seek a divorce based on fault, which can include cruelty, adultery, desertion or confinement to prison. [8] X Research source How will my property be divided? Depending on the state in which you live, your property may be divided as community property/separate property or through equitable division. In community property states, all property accumulated during the marriage is considered marital property and is divided evenly. If you owned property before the marriage that property is considered separate property and it is not subject to division. If you live in an equitable division state, a judge will try to decide what is fair and may not divide the property evenly. [9] X Research source How is child custody and child support handled. The guiding principle in all states regarding custody is a determination of what is in the best interest of the child. Most states have resources for parents to help them develop a custody agreement and parenting plan. Links to these resource can be found at: http://family. findlaw. com/child-custody/child-custody-and-visitation-information-by-state. html
Federal and State income taxes for the previous five years. Paystubs and/or payroll statements. Documents concerning your retirement accounts, such as 401(k) plans, annuities, IRAs or other pension or retirement information. All insurance policies, including life, auto, health, and home. Deeds for property or contracts for leases. Any documents showing debt, including mortgage statements, student loan debt, loans, or credit card statements. Documents showing all bank accounts, including check books and bank statements. Documents showing household expenses, such as rent, utilities, food and clothing Household budget information. If you own a business, you should also gather all business documents detailing profit and loss.
Conduct an internet search with the name of your state and “divorce forms. ” Search state court websites for divorce forms. You can visit individual state-specific court websites by locating your state on the following website http://www. ncsc. org/Information-and-Resources/Browse-by-State/State-Court-Websites. aspx, and clicking on the link for your state. Once you are on the state website, use the search window to search for “divorce forms. ” Call the court clerk. If you are unable to locate the forms online, contact the court clerk and ask them where you can find the specific forms. You can find the contact information for state-specific courts using the link above.
Contact information for both spouses. Date and place of marriage. Information specifying residency and jurisdiction. Information regarding children, if any, including parentage, names, birth dates, and current custody arrangement. Information specifying assets and debt. Information specifying the grounds for divorce. [10] X Research source
Bring at least one original and two copies to the court clerk. Submit the documents to the court clerk for filing. The clerk will stamp all of the documents as filed, return the copies to you and keep the original. Pay a filing fee. Most courts will require that you pay a filing fee to commence an action. You should bring the fee in the appropriate form to the court at the time of filing. You may also be able to file for a waiver of the fee. [11] X Research source
Personal service, which means that a person over the age of 18 personally hands the document to your spouse and fills out an affidavit describing the service. Depending on the state, process servers can include friends, family members, professional process servers, or law enforcement personnel. Service by mail. Many jurisdictions allow you to serve parties to a lawsuit or divorce by mail. Typically, you would send the document by U. S. mail, “return receipt requested,” so that you can demonstrate for the court that the document was delivered to the residence of your spouse. If you are unable to locate your spouse, some jurisdictions will allow you to serve by publication. This may mean that you are required to publish a notice in a newspaper where you believe your spouse resides. Most likely, you will be required to publish the notice over a course of weeks or months. [13] X Research source
