Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce - Emily Doskow [31]
Where to File
You'll file your divorce papers with a court clerk at a county courthouse. Big counties have more than one courthouse, and some counties have special family law departments. Check your local court's wehsite, if there is one, or call the court to find out where you should file. For advice on how to find your local county courthouse, see Chapter 16.
Sample Petition for Divorce
Sample Petition for Divorce (continued)
Finding Forms
Most states have fill-in-the-blanks forms for divorce cases. Usually, you can get these forms at your local courthouse or from the court's website or a state website. (Chapter 16 lists court websites by state.)
You should do whatever's easiest and most convenient for you, but all things being equal, consider going to the courthouse to pick up your forms-it gives you a chance to begin establishing a relationship with the court clerks. Many court clerks will give you a divorce packet that includes all of the forms you need to get your divorce started (and in some cases, finished).
On the other hand, especially if you live in a large county where you're not likely to get a lot of attention from the clerks, the convenience of the Internet may outweigh the opportunity for the personal touch. Be aware, though, that many court websites don't have all the forms you need.
How to Fill Out Court Papers
We all fill out lots of forms in the course of our daily life, and interacting with the court system means filling out even more than usual-and in a particular, nitpicky sort of way. Follow instructions slavishly-don't cut corners or skip steps-and you'll he fine.
Most fill-in-the-blanks court forms require that at or near the top of the first page you list your name, telephone number, and current address. Just below that, usually on the left, there will be a box for you to list your name and the name of your spouse. Use your full legal names, including middle names or initials. Even if you are planning on taking hack the name you had before your marriage, don't use it on these papers unless you've already changed it back legally. You can have your name changed as part of the divorce.
Court Forms You'll Probably Need
• The petition or complaint that starts the divorce proceeding.
• A summons that you will need to serve along with the petition. The summons is a form that tells your spouse that you are suing for divorce and orders both of you not to dispose of marital assets or make changes on insurance or other documents, not to take your children out of state without the other's permission, and not to do anything else to disturb the status quo.
• A cover sheet that you must submit in some places along with your forms, which usually asks for information such as what county you live in, how many children you have, and how long you have been married.
• Financial information sheets that you must give either to the court or to your spouse early on. (See Chapter 9, which discusses financial disclosure issues.)
• Responsive forms that your spouse will use to file a response to your petition. (You may have to deliver copies to your spouse along with the papers you've filled out.)
• Proof of service form that shows the date that your spouse received the divorce paperwork.
Even though all of these documents are set up with two "opposing" parties, that doesn't mean you can't have an uncontested divorce. You and your spouse can decide together what your forms will say. You can't file a joint petition unless you qualify for a summary dissolution, described above. But your spouse's response can ask for all of the same things that you want-an end to the marriage and a court order reflecting your agreements about property, custody, and support.
Occasionally, you'll need to prepare a document from scratch. See "Preparing Court Documents From Scratch," below.
You can fill in the forms on your computer, with a typewriter, or by hand. Whichever method you use, it's