A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO FILLING A DIVORCE

 

 A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE TO FILLING A DIVORCE

Are you tired of your subsisting marriage and want to divorce your partner but you don't know how to go about it?

Well, just like every other contract, marriage is not an exception, it is an agreement between two or more parties and not just a role for romantic fantasy alone. It is a legal relationship that gives rise to certain rights and obligations when your party fails to obey the terms or breaches the terms of the agreement.

Well, we know that traditionally, especially from the bible, many including you have argued that marriage is not an agreement albeit, the law seems to take a different view on what marriage is. Law views it as a legal relationship hence has provided grounds in which you can divorce your partners when you are tired of the marriage or when the marriage has broken down irrevocably.

Yes, there are several reasons why you can divorce your partner, it may be cheating, adultery, or the inability of your partner to consummate the marriage, etc., but do you know that in divorcing your partners, there are several steps to follow? In this context, we are going to reveal a step-by-step guide to filing a divorce.

Here is the real kicker!

Are you tired of your present marriage and do you want to become single again? Well, becoming single again is feasible but the truth is that the steps of divorce can be complicated and stressful and you can only be free when fully fulfilled the process. But don't worry, we are here to help give you ample idea about the process of divorce.

One of the most important things to do before planning to divorce your partner is to hire an attorney with expertise in family law, if you need such, we can provide you with one that will help you with everything, just contact us today.

Now, let's get better, Divorce takes place when the competent court of jurisdiction legally ends your marriage. In some jurisdictions, you can only be considered divorced when the judge signs a divorce decree while in some jurisdictions, you are divorced when the court declares your decree absolute.

You need to keep in mind that there are other results that would emanate from the decision of your divorce with your partner by the court and which must be fulfilled. Such roles as, deciding how your marital property should be divided, the children's custody, and the spousal, child support, or alimony.

It is also important to know that, divorce varies depending on your state and jurisdiction, so, for you to be conversant with the practices and rules governing divorce, you must pay attention and learn about the practice of divorce in your state however, the general idea is that you must fulfill some necessary steps which may likely be the same steps we are about to show you.

Also, there are different types of divorce. You and your partner will need to consider what is right for you without the interest of the court. However, the court will show its interest when your children are affected by your choice or type of divorce, The reason is that, the courts more intention is to protect the children in divorce.

Now, here are the steps you must fulfill before the court declares your subsisting marriage invalid and over between your partner.

 

 

Decree Nissi (Separation)

Divorce does not just happen; you and your partner might have harbored it while waiting for the main event that would end it irrevocably. In some jurisdictions, when you file a divorce in a court, the judge will give you and your partner time to think about the decision before embarking on the divorce process and that period is referred to as separation.

Within that period, the court will ask that you and your partner stay far away from each other (separated) and call decree Nissi in some jurisdiction. It is the process in which you and your partner are legally separated however, the marriage is still subsisting.

The separation period can take a year or months depending on your decisions, during the separation period, you are formally separated from your partner however, the court will order that you have a written agreement about a certain amount to support your spouse or child custody where children are involved while living apart.

The period of separation is to decide If you want a divorce or not. Therefore, it is the first step of getting a divorce.

Research has shown that over 70% of marriages successfully get divorced after the period of waiting known as separation.

Grounds for Divorce

You and your partner must decide on a type of divorce to fill when you are ready to move forward with the divorce process after separation.

You can decide to file a petition for a no-fault divorce, a no-fault divorce connotes that you and your partner have irreconcilable differences making it incompatible to continue together. A no-fault divorce is neither your wrongdoing nor that of your partner as justification for the divorce. Most times, the court can grant this type of divorce even when your partner does not want the divorce.

You can also file for a fault divorce; this type of divorce Is based on the wrong of either you or your partner. There are specific grounds for divorce such as adultery, abuse, inability to consummate the marriage, etc.

Fault divorce is more complicated and stressful than no-fault divorce because it is based on either your fault or your partner's own hence you or your partner wants to end the marriage.

 

Filling for Divorce

After successfully agreeing on the type of divorce with your partner, the next step is to file for the divorce. Filling is one of the essential steps of divorce. You are to file paperwork with the court of competent to begin the process of dissolving your subsisting marriage.

In your petition for divorce, you would ask to provide some important information such as:

The grounds for divorce.

Your name and contact and that of your partner.

Information about your children.

How do you want your property to be shared and your children's custody as well as child support?

After providing the above information, you would be asked to pay a divorce filing fee to the court staff.

Service of the Petition for Divorce

It is trite that when you file a case in court you must serve the other party and divorce petition is not an exception. When you fail to serve the other party, it can destroy your case. In law, the other party must be notified about the case to enable them to make plans for their appearance before the court.

You must pay a bailiff to serve your partner with divorce papers or can request that the sheriff serve your partner and make sure that they provide you with the proof of service because you will need to tender it in court to prove that you served your partner with the divorce papers.

Response to the petition for divorce

After serving your partner with the divorce petition, you must wait for your partner's response or from their lawyer. Your partner in response will submit an answer to your petition for divorce either agreeing with the petition or disagreeing with your petition.

Under this process, your partner through a lawyer can file a counterclaim and introduce a new problem for the court to consider. The law is that they must also serve you with a copy of their claims and proof of service.

At this point, the divorce proceedings have begun.

 

 

Hearing

This is the first time your case will be mentioned in the court openly and that will be done after several disagreement and filling of petition between you and your partner through an attorney.

The court may decide to go with the trial immediately or may decide to discuss some temporary issues that are linked to the case.

You must understand that a divorce case can take 2 to 4 years to decide or give judgment by the court however, it depends on the court and the jurisdiction.

At this process, the case has begun and you might have engaged the service of an experienced attorney. Your attorney will gather evidence through your discussion with him and the experience you had with your partner. Your attorney will build your case around what you tell him and employ his expertise during the period of trial.

Your Attorney and your partner's Attorney would prove their knowledge of the law as regards divorce, citing cases and statutes to back up their points.

 

Judgment

This is the last step of divorce. At this point, your attorney and your partner attorney have provided the court with their arguments, evidence as well as their oral presentation in support of the case.

The court now must sit back and decide on the case with the help of the jury, employing both attorneys' arguments, evidence, and oral presentation to arrive at a judgment.

In the end, the court may want to strike a consensus between you and your partner especially when the children are involved. The court decisions are always in the interests of the children hence whenever they decide, the court will order that the rich partner pay the child support, permit child visits, and share the property.

After deciding on everything about the case, the sitting judge or judges will sign the divorce decree and at this point, you are not in an existing marriage agreement with your partner again hence divorced.

The court will notify the general public as well as publish it in the federal gazette about the divorce, however, you must carry out your obligation as the court demanded religiously.

Do you need an attorney to help you through the process of divorce? These processes are rigorous and will need an expert to handle them. We have trained and professional attorneys who are experts in this field who will help you with your divorce process without stress. Do you need one? Send us a message now.