The ultimate goal of a divorce is to end an unfulfilled marriage and start over with a new beginning. However, sometimes this does not happen as intended and one or both partners need the help of an attorney to get through the divorce proceedings. Typically, the divorce process starts when one or both partners to file a complaint in court. If you already have a divorce attorney (usually known as a family law lawyer), he or she will then file the complaint.
It will typically contain or be accompanied by, information regarding the debts the couple has, the names and addresses of the children, the amount of money each partner earns at work, and other relevant financial information. This information is used by the court to process the divorce process. In some cases, however, if uncontested divorce proceedings have been reached, the court may reserve the right to make these financial matters a part of the final decree. To be specific, this happens in Seattle State where there are no juries and the judge makes the decisions.
Once the complaint has been filed in the court, it will then move on to the discovery phase. In this phase of the divorce process, opposing attorneys will interview key witnesses. They will also question any financial records that pertain to the parties. Often, financial records are only given to the divorcing partners once everything else has been submitted to the court for review. The goal of this phase is to determine whether or not the divorce can be finalized in an expedited manner.
During this phase of the divorce process, the spouse with the custody award will be asked to provide documentation concerning any other custody agreements that were previously drawn up. There are many states where there are no requirements to show that a spouse has been paying child support to another. Other instances where full custody is awarded without having to prove financial responsibility may be rare, but they do exist. If the trial did not settle these questions, they will need to be settled during the trial.
After this, a summary of all evidence regarding the case will need to be submitted to the court. A summary of any other marital issues that have come up during the course of the marriage will also need to be provided to the court along with all of the financial documentation. If uncontested, these matters will need to be settled between the two sides before the case is finalized. Most of the time, these matters can be resolved and agreed upon between the spouses, and therefore there is no need to have the divorce finalized in front of a judge.
Once everything has been submitted to the court, a date for a trial hearing will be scheduled. If the divorce is uncontested, and both parties agree upon all terms, then the case will be heard by a judge and the outcome will be determined in a court of law. If there are any problems along the way, they will be addressed before the case is heard. The goal of a good divorce process is to make sure that both spouses get what they want from a divorce, which is a fair settlement of their differences, and a start towards a better family life.
