Understanding Divorce and Protecting Your Interests

Filing for divorce is never easy to go through, but it is possible to end a marriage peacefully with very little difficulty. However, this is not always the case in many divorce proceedings.

The divorce lawyers are usually the only ones that truly win big in the long run. A long drawn out divorce proceeding can be extremely overwhelming for both the parties, emotionally and financially. The longer it takes to settle a divorce, the longer the conflict continues. This can create huge legal fees for both sides. However, it doesn’t have to be this way if you obtain the assistance of a qualified legal document assistant or paralegal.

Most often, both parties will agree on the settlement and other pertinent matters without an attorney and the final dissolution can take place fairly quickly. It is possible this can all happen before the mandated waiting period is up and both parties can agree on what is fair.

There can be many questions about the divorce procedure and they need to be addressed. The procedure usually starts with a divorce petition that is initiated by one spouse (the Petitioner) and served on the other (the Respondent). The petition, which includes detailed information about the marriage, is also filed with the clerk of court in the county where you live. The petition includes many facts about your marriage including the names of the husband and wife, the date and place of marriage, names of any children resulting from your marriage, separate or community property held by you or your spouse, child custody, child support, spousal support, and any other issued that needs to be addressed before dissolution of the marriage is finalized. A properly filed divorce requires that the respondent spouse be given reasonable notice that the divorce petition has been filed, either in person or by a process server. The respondent then has a given amount of time to answer or file a counter-claim if one is necessary. If both parties agree on the terms of a settlement, a court hearing is not required and the divorce will be final.