The Legal Side of Divorce

While divorce can be an emotionally draining experience, even in the best of situations, it can also be a complicated legal matter that affects both parties equally. No matter how long your marriage has lasted or how few belongings you share together, it is also best to involve an attorney in your divorce proceedings. With out legal representation your rights could go unprotected and you could end up in financial trouble or even lose custody of your children or possessions.

Once you have contacted an attorney for legal representation, he or she will walk you through the most common steps of a divorce. Depending on the circumstances revolving around your divorce, this process can either be very simple and straight forward, or very complicated and time consuming.

The simplest divorces involve parties that have not been together very long, that do not have any children and that have very few, if any, shared items to divide. More complicated divorces come about from parties with a lot of mutually owned property, young children, and non-agreement on the proceedings. Non-agreement can include such things as differing opinions on how to split up property to bigger concerns such one party not wanting to agree to the divorce.

The first step in any divorce is filing a petition to announce your intentions of divorce. Even if both parties want a divorce, only one party will file this petition. In the petition, you lawyer will list your reason for seeking divorce. He or she will also advise you on which reason is more acceptable for your situation.

After a petition has been filed, your lawyer may suggest that you file a temporary order. A temporary order is usually filed for concerns about custody and child support where one party will need financial support or the guarantee of custody until final judgment is made. These orders are awarded within days of filing and stay in effect until the court hearing in your case.

Once a person has filed a petition for divorce or any temporary orders, these petitions are served to the other party. Through this service, the other party is notified of all petitions against him or her and is given the chance to respond to the petitions. In mutually agreed upon divorces, the response is as simple as a comment acknowledging the petition. In cases of disagreement, the response may contain disputes covering anything from the grounds of the divorce to disagreements on the division of property, child custody or support.

If there is no disagreement once a petition has been filed, then both parties will proceed without a trial to the dissolution of their marriage. However, if there are disagreements, further steps will need to be taken to sort them out.

Depending on the type of disagreement, the court has many venues to use to help the parties reach agreement. In the case of custody battles, the court may order both parties to attend a mediation session where a third party can help them settle their difference. In some cases, the court might also order an evaluation with a social worker to ensure that any solution is in the best interest of the children.

If the disagreement concerns monetary or property division, the court may order a conference for both parties that is overseen by a lawyer or a court employee. In this case the third party will work to help individual compromise while still holding onto their rights.

If the parties still cannot agree on the terms or provisions of the divorce, a trial will be necessary. In a divorce trial, both sides will explain and defend their positions and then a judge will decide on all matters of grounds, property division, child custody and support. Once the judge has made his ruling an order of dissolution is granted.

An order of dissolution legally ends the marriage and sets forth the legally binding terms for the end of the marriage. The terms include the judgments ordered on property division and child support.

Since each divorce comes with individual concerns and many migrating circumstances, it is very important that you choose a competent and experienced lawyer to represent you and your interests.

© 2005 LawyerVista, a website where you can find a lawyer in your city or state, including Hawaii divorce lawyers and Tennessee divorce lawyers. You may reprint this article as long as you don't alter or edit it in any way and include the author's credits and this copyright notice including a working link to us.

---

Divorce Articles: How To Get The Most From A Divorce Article

There are many types of divorce articles available on the... Read More

Guide To Reducing The Cost Of Divorce

Seven Tips to help you keep more of your money... Read More

Divorce: Coping With The Family Law Process

The EmotionsDivorce is a scary, lonely and misunderstood process for... Read More

An In-Depth Look at Army Divorce Rates

Raleigh, NC-The largest divorce firm in the state, Rosen Law... Read More

Divorce--How to Beat the System

Of course you want to get your Judgment--that's the goal... Read More

Four Tips to Save You Money in a Divorce Case

1. Have an Clear Written Fee AgreementMost experienced and effective... Read More

Commitment

Being marriage means being fully committed to your husband as... Read More

Is Your Marriage Problem Severe Enough To Warrant Getting A Divorce?

Having a marriage problem can be agonizing especially if you're... Read More

Contested And Uncontested Divorce

A divorce case is contested if the parties cannot agree... Read More

The Heart Moves On: Using Ceremony to Mark the End of a Relationship

Divorce or the end of a long-term relationship is a... Read More

Post-Divorce Alimony in Texas

This article provides a brief overview on Texas law concerning... Read More

Divorce Online Sevice - Why Should We Lose Money And Time Applying For Divorce?

Attempts to use the worldwide Web as an effective means... Read More

How Women Should Protect Themselves Financially Regarding Divorce

Women who believe a divorce is a possibility or who... Read More

Divorce Decision: Things To Consider When Making A Decision About Divorce

When making a divorce decision, there are quite a few... Read More

Divorce--The Five Obstacles to Agreement

This article and my articles "Overcoming Obstacles to Agreement" and... Read More

Spare Your Kids To 7 Most Distressful Divorce Parenting Situations

What 7 most distressful situations to kids that divorced parents... Read More

Divorce--Overcoming the Obstacles to Agreement: Ten Steps

You're going to want to be working on your divorce... Read More

Divorce

The most recent statistics show that about 50% of all... Read More

Avoid Lawyers! Do-It-Yourself Divorce Saved Me Tons of Money!

Let me preface this by saying right up front -... Read More

How To Identify What The Question Should I Get a Divorce? Means To You

Deciding about whether you should get a divorce or not... Read More

How To Protect Your Life Insurance Policy While Going Through A Divorce

Life insurance, more than most things you buy, relates to... Read More

Spousal Emotional Abuse During Divorce--What You Can Do

Is your spouse violent, abusive, harassing? In cases of harassment... Read More

The Legal Side of Divorce

While divorce can be an emotionally draining experience, even in... Read More

Choosing Your Divorce Method

The biggest mistake that people make when getting divorced is... Read More

Coping With Divorce Anger

Successfully releasing your anger will help you begin healing after... Read More

Divorce and the Stock Market

The most recent statistics show that about 50% of all... Read More

Get Over A Divorce and Prepare for Divorce Recovery!

It can be difficult to get over a divorce and... Read More

Child Support: 5 Key Things Every Parent Should Know

There is no magic solution to getting issues surrounding child... Read More

Effects of Divorce on Children

When a couple decides their marriage is over, a tremendous... Read More

Divorce and Separation - A Child?s Perspective

It is always the children that suffer the most when... Read More

Divorce--Negotiating Agreement: Ten Steps

The best predictor of a good divorce outcome is the... Read More

Should I Get Divorced? Or Not?

No one besides you can determine whether or not a... Read More

How Can Collaborative Law Be Beneficial In Your Texas Divorce?

Collaborative law is based on the realization that the commitment... Read More