Nolo's Essential Guide to Divorce - Emily Doskow [33]
When you file your initial complaint or petition for divorce, the clerk will assign a case number and place the number on the first page. You will put the case number on all other documents that you file in your case, and refer to it in all your communications with the clerk's office.
You can mail documents you want to file to the clerk, but it's the second best way to get them filed. Aside from the obvious danger of delay or loss, you'll lose the chance to start establishing a personal relationship with the clerk's office staff, with whom you may he dealing later. (If you do mail the copies to be filed, keep an extra copy at home in case the others are lost in the mail.)
Filing Fees
Filing fees vary enormously from state to state, but you can be sure that you'll have to pay at least $100, and possibly as much as $400, to start your divorce. Your spouse-or you, if your spouse was the filing party-will then have to pay a similar fee to file a response.
If you make any interim requests from the court, such as for custody, support, or a determination of who stays in the family home at the outset, there will probably be a filing fee if a court hearing is necessary. These fees are much less than the initial filing fee, thoughmore in the range of $20 to $50. You can find out the fees by calling the court clerk or, in many places, by looking at the court website. See Chapter 16 for a list of court websites by state.
Serving Papers
After you have filed your initial papers with the court, the next step is to "serve" the papers on your spouse. Serving papers simply means having them delivered in a legally approved way, according to your state's law. The most important thing to know is that you cannot serve the papers yourself. You have to have someone else do it, and sign a document stating that they did so, usually called a "proof" or "declaration" of service.
You can have your spouse served personally or by mail. If your spouse is missing and you're asking for a default divorce, you'll have to ask the court to either allow you to serve your spouse by publication or release you from the obligation to serve your spouse. See "Service When Your Spouse Is Missing," below. Whichever way you get your spouse served, given that you're trying for a cooperative divorce process, it's courteous to let your spouse know the paperwork is coming.
Personal Service
Serving someone personally means hand-delivering the documents to that person. You can either hire someone to do this-a process server or, in most places, the local sheriff-or ask a friend to do it. If you want to hire someone, check with the court clerk about having the sheriff's office serve the papers, as that is often the least expensive route. Or look in the phone book under "process servers" or "private investigators" to find someone who is experienced with serving papers.
Your local court clerk should be able to give you more information about getting your spouse served with the papers. And make sure you double check what needs to be served. In many places, you're required to serve blank copies of responsive documents along with the petition and summons, so that your spouse has the necessary papers to prepare a response.
Service by Mail
In most states, you can serve divorce papers by mail and include a form that your spouse signs to acknowledge that the papers were received. Usually the acknowledgment form is available along with the rest of the divorce forms you get from the court or online. Have someone else drop the papers in the mailbox and sign the formremember, you're not allowed to do the serving.
Service When Your Spouse Is Missing
If you can't find your spouse after trying all the suggestions listed in "If Your Spouse is Missing," above, you will have to ask the court to either:
• allow you to serve your spouse by publication, or
• dispense with