Going through a divorce is undoubtedly one of hardest experiences you will go through. However, with a support network, the right legal guidance and compassion for yourself, you will get through this time and begin your new, post-divorce life. Before you get there, though, there are steps that everyone has to go through in order to divorce, which we discuss below.
Filing a petition for divorce
Whether it is you or your spouse, someone has to file a petition for divorce with the court. This notifies the court of your intent to divorce your spouse and begins the legal process in court. After the papers have been filed, the person who files them must ensure the other spouse is served with those papers.
Time to respond
After you file for divorce, the other party has the right to respond. Each state is different in how much time they give the other party, but typically it is anywhere from 14 to 28 days. During that time, the other spouse should hire an attorney and usually, the attorney will file the response with the court.
Temporary orders and motions
During this in-between time, the parties may go back and forth asking the court to file certain orders, like an order to freeze any financial assets, so the other spouse does not go out and spend all of their money. You can also file motions pertaining to the custody of your children, or the court may do so without you asking them, if necessary.
Research and discovery
During this phase, the parties exchange information about their assets, debts, and request answers to any questions they may have. This can happen via interrogatories, which are lists of questions, or a deposition, which is when the parties get together to ask one of the parties to answer questions under oath.
Negotiation and settlement
At this stage, the parties are ready to reach a resolution. Ideally, their attorneys have negotiated and found some form of common ground, even if the parties are not entirely happy with the outcome. More often than not, it is more beneficial for the parties to negotiate a settlement than it is for them to go to trial.
Every step of a divorce is critical and in most cases, mandatory. If you choose to go through the courts, you will most likely hit every one of these milestones as you head toward the day when the judge signs your settlement order and orders you divorced from your spouse.