Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce - Emily Doskow [30]
A sample petition-not the simplest, not the most complicated-is shown below in "How to Fill Out Court Papers."
Residency Requirements
Before you can file for divorce in the state where you live, you must have lived there for a certain period of time. A few states don't require a specific period of residence, but most have a residency requirement ranging from six weeks to one year. (If you or your spouse is in the military, residency requirements don't apply, and most of the time you may file in the state where the military spouse is stationed-see Chapter 12 for more about that.) The requirements for each state are listed below.
* Must establish residency for 12 months before final judgment can be entered, unless one party lived in CT at marriage and returned with intention to stay, or the cause for dissolution arose after either party moved to CT.
Residency Requirements (continued)
If You Want Your Prior Name Back
If you took your spouse's last name when you married and you now want to go back to using the name you had before your marriage, make sure you take care of it during the divorce. Otherwise, you'll have to pay additional court filing fees and go through a separate procedure to change your name. In most places, the petition form will ask you whether you want a name change as part of the divorce-if it doesn't, then the final order is likely to have a place where you can ask for that. Or you can include a provision in your marital settlement agreement if you write one.
You aren't required to take your prior name back. Some people keep their married name so it's the same as their children's. Others think they're likely to remarry and don't want too many name changes over the course of time. And some feel it's important to get rid of their married name as part of moving on. It's entirely up to you-your spouse has no say in the matter.
Which Spouse Files for Divorce?
If you're expecting to get a default divorce, go ahead and file the papers yourself. If you and your spouse have agreed on an uncontested divorce, you'll need to decide who files. Usually it doesn't matter much, so don't get into an argument about it. (The main issue is convenience-if your spouse has moved to a different county and you think you're going to be the one doing most of the work of the divorce, file in the county where you live.)
The filing fees for the petitioner (the spouse who files first) and the respondent (the other spouse) are about the same, but if you want to you can add up both fees and split the total cost. (See "Filing Fees," below.)
Your New Best Friend: The Clerk of the Court
Court clerks are the people who work in what is basically the court system's front office. They are the public face of the court, and they handle most every piece of paperwork that comes into or leaves the court. The clerks are not lawyers and are not allowed to give legal advice. At the same time, it's their job to help people who have questions about what papers they need, how to fill those papers out, and what they need to do next.
Here are a few things to remember when dealing with the court clerks:
• Be friendly, patient, and courteous. The wheels of justice do not always turn swiftly or smoothly, and you may have to wait in a long line just to ask what seems to you like a simple question. The nicer you are to the clerk, the more likely it is that you'll get your question answered and get the help you need.
• Submit papers that are neat, complete, and on time. Double check everything you do-or better still, have a friend check it-to make sure the clerk won't have to give it back to you. (There's more about how to prepare legal papers below.)
• If the clerk says that your question requires legal advice, ask whether there's any part of it that the clerk can answer. For example, if you want to know how to get an order for temporary child support, the clerk should tell you where to get the forms you will need to file,