Comments/Bulletin Board / LIVE Chat Room / Photo Album / Reviews (Movies, Books, Music..) / The Poems
|| ARTICLES MENU || Resource Center || Search This Site for.. || Get New Articles Free via E-mail! ||
GETTING
STARTED
~
Understanding The Process & Paperwork ~
Disclaimer: The information provided herein is for informational purposes only and not to be taken or presented as 'legal advice'. Due to the individual nature and circumstances of each individual case persons are advised to seek actual court appointed Facilitator, Paralegal or Attorney's services before taking action in their own case. This information is presented as guidance and suggestions concerning the issues at hand and not as binding legal counsel or representation in any way, shape or form.
GETTING STARTED
The first thing you will want to do is make a decision on child custody. If you intend to remain with custody of the children, keep this in mind. In most states the parent who already has custody of the children at the moment of separation is the one who will tend to keep them even after all is said and done in court. Since we are concerned here with you being the one who will start the divorce process, we'll assume you intend to move out with the children or the other party has moved out and you are caring for the children on your own.
This essentially involves you as the main caretaker who has them living in your residence. Also you would be the one sending them to school, caring for their meals, laundry, etc. Keep a notebook handy and one important date you will want to note is the 'Date of Separation'. This will establish the point at which you began caring for the children and can also assist you in retaining sole ownership of purchases made -after- separation. Usually all things owned -prior- to separation are considered to be Mutual Property by the court until either a mutual agreement is made or a final divorce decision by the court on property divides things up.
So you now have the children and your own residence either at home, apartment or staying with other family or friends. You will want to go to your local phone book and under 'Government Offices' in the white pages you will look for your local Family Law Court. It is best if you can go there personally and ask where the Help Desk or Help Office is located. If for some reason there isn't one (most do have one) you can go to the Filing Desk and ask for the forms to begin a divorce motion. They may call it a 'Motion For Dissolution of Marriage'. ('Dissolution' is just another legal term for 'dissolve', so don't let that confuse you.)
Once you receive this packet of forms most of what is needed to be filled out you can do yourself if you just sit down and take the time to read them. Filling out your address, income, and such is pretty strait-forward. It is preferable if you can type them out, but if that is not possible be sure to -print- VERY legibly or the clerk may not accept them for filing. Most public libraries have typewriters available for use. If not, take the time to find a friend who has one you can borrow.
If you need help you can make an appointment with the Family Law Office to sit with a Facilitator. A Facilitator is basically someone who understands Family law and provides free guidance and instruction on filling out forms, court procedures, and other questions you may have. They do not represent you in court, but are a valuable resource to make use of.
REPRESENTING YOURSELF
Most people do not have the money available for an attorney to handle their divorce, but one is not always needed either. You can handle your own divorce but will need to learn a few things about filing and some legal terms. But do not feel you cannot do this. When you represent yourself, where paperwork states next to your name, 'Representing attorney'... you may place your name and below write or type: 'IN PRO PER' as Representing Attorney. This states in legal terms that you are representing yourself without a legal attorney. (There, that wasn't so hard now was it?)
Once you have filled out your packet you will have the following completed; (May vary slightly according to State)
Ø A Notice Of Motion (also called 'Request For Dissolution')
Ø A Temporary Restraining Order
Ø An Income & Expense Declaration
Ø A Schedule of Debts and Assets.
Ø A Child Care Statement
Ø A General Declaration (optional)
Ø A Blank Responsive Declaration
Ø A Blank Income Expense Declaration
Ø A Proof of Service (by person or mail)
Yes, you will be looking at what seems like a lot of paperwork, but once you break it down and know what each item is for it becomes a lot less confusing.. so let's do that right now.
NOTICE OF MOTION (or 'Request For Dissolution')
This is a sheet of paper that tells the court the reason for your filing. That way they know you are filing for divorce.. not a late claim on Howard Hughe's estate or to fight a traffic ticket or something. It basically says who you are, who the other party is (your soon to be ex-spouse) and that you wish to have a day in court to begin dissolving the marriage.
Often times when you go to file your packet a date will be set for Mediation. Mediation is simply a meeting, not yet in court, with your ex and a third person appointed by the court to try and work out an agreement that can be sent with you to your court date to make things simpler. The Mediator is a trained professional whose job is to simply enact a peaceful agreement so as to avoid a lengthy divorce. Refusal to show up or cooperate can often mean losing your voice in matters with the Mediator making decisions or imposing fines to encourage cooperation.
If, when, you go to mediation make it a point to remain calm, stick to the facts, answer any questions honestly and make reaching a fair agreement your main concern. If you have any statements to make concerning physical abuse, drug or alcohol abuse by the other party it would be helpful to bring photos, police reports, notarized statements from witnesses, etc. to help confirm your statements.
TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER
This is what you could call a 'generic' restraining order that usually makes clear to both parties what can and cannot be done until the court has a chance to make decisions on your case. Some of the things usually mentioned include; the prevention of either party selling off 'mutual' property for personal gain; moving residence of the children beyond a certain mileage or county restriction; harassment by phone, person or mail of either party's home, business or school.
INCOME & EXPENSE DECLARATION
A 'declaration' of any kind is simply a legal term that states you are 'declaring' the information on that page. In this case you are filling in the blanks concerning two things; how much you earn and how much you spend. Usually copies of your three most recent pay stubs are stapled to this form as well, or a copy of your last year's State Income Tax filing. You are filling out this information for yourself. As you can see from the list above, a BLANK income and expense form will be sent to your ex-spouse, but we'll get to that in a minute.
SCHEDULE OF DEBTS & ASSETS
This is essentially a list of all the property of value held by you and the other party. Be sure to make a note of which items are in your name or their name such as cars, debts, etc. List any credit card balances, car payments, hospital bills, real property, your home, bank accounts, etc. so they can be divided when the time comes.
CHILD CARE STATEMENT
This is usually attached to your Income & Expense declaration. It usually says, "Must be filled out if child support is an issue." If you have children, it is an issue. Fill out the approximate amount of time the children are with you, their names and ages along with any other questions asked on the sheet.
GENERAL DECLARATION
This is a page, which has a place for your name and address at the top, and a space for you to give a brief account of facts relevant to the case being presented. (Remember, if you are representing yourself, where it says 'Attorney'. put IN PRO PER along with your full name. There is no other form that lets you do this so freely, so that's why they have this form.
Generally what you want to put here should be short and to the point. No more than a two page Declaration if you can help it since a judge is more likely to take the time to read a short Declaration than sift through an epic saga of five or more pages. Make sure whatever you put down you will be able to support later if asked. Things you may want to mention would be; date of separation; your care and custody of the children since date of separation; any physical abuse suffered from the other party; special expenses due to handicapped child or self; harassment from other party, including dates/times.
BLANK RESPONSIVE DECLARATION &
BLANK INCOME/EXPENSE DECLARATION
These are what they appear to be. Sometimes the clerk forgets to give you these along with your 'Dissolution' packet so be sure to get them. These will be sent to the other party so that they can fill it out with their own information. You send them blank.
PROOF OF SERVICE
A 'Proof Of Service' sheet is simply a sheet of paper which states you 'Served' the other party with a copy of all these interesting papers. To 'serve' someone with papers is a legal term which essentially means you made a specific point of 'giving' a specific person specific legal documents or copies.
The 'Proof of Service' cannot be filed with the court until the other person has been served, naturally. We'll get back to this sheet in a minute after covering what you do once you've filled out your end of paperwork to get the ball rolling with the divorce.[Part 2 of this article is continued under the title; 'Now That The Paperwork Is Filled Out'.]
~Henry Velez / Copyright 1999; all rights reserved.
|| Comments/Bulletin Board ||
|| ARTICLES MENU || Resource Center || Search This Site for.. || Get New Articles Free via E-mail! ||
Comments/Bulletin Board / LIVE Chat Room / Photo Album / Reviews (Movies, Books, Music..) / The Poems
||-Top Of Page-||
For
articles on Single Life.. visit..
