Understanding How the Divorce Process Actually Works in Practice
Getting divorced is viewed as a bad ending to a marriage and a failure. No one wants to imagine that their marriage will end this way, but there are over 630,000 divorces in the United States every year.
The process can be a nightmare for some couples and others may not even know where to begin with the divorce process.
So, what do you do? Can this process be made any more pleasant?
Here is what you should know about filing for divorce.
File for Divorce
The first thing that at least one partner has to do is legally file for divorce. Once that happens, it will legally require the other partner to respond to that filing within a certain amount of time.
The partner(s) filing will have to state whether it is an at-fault divorce or a no-fault divorce.
Examples of at-fault divorce include known adultery, abandonment (the legal definition varies there), underage marriage, incest, and more. On the contrary, a no-fault divorce simply means that one partner wishes to legally exit the relationship.
Getting Temporary Court Orders
This mainly applies for couples that have children involved in their divorce. With parents separating, it typically means that one parent will have to move out of the house.
For some couples, they may be relying on one spouse to be the bread winner for the family. A temporary court order can determine temporary child custody and temporary child support until a divorce settlement is reached. This is significant if getting sole custody is your goal because the parent who obtains temporary custody of their children during the divorce process is more likely to be given permanent custody in the long run.
Hire a Divorce Lawyer
One thing that is highly suggested that you should do is hiring a divorce lawyer. Divorces are permanent contracts and getting the wrong end of the deal can affect you for the rest of your life.
A lawyer will give you the playbook on what you should do and what you should be facing, plus it offers you some legal protection. Divorce lawyers can help you know the difference between certain scenarios at well as the potential rewards and consequences.
See a Mediator
Most divorces tend to get settled by a mediator before they ever reach trial. This is ideal as it would save you a lot of money in legal fees and it likely means that your divorce is cleaner than one that would go to trial.
A mediator will listen to you, your partner, plus both lawyers involved in the case and help determine what is fair when it comes to things being asked by both sides. Mediators can even make recommendations and decisions to try to get the divorce settled as quickly as possible.
If both parties fail to come to an agreement after seeing a mediator, they would have to take the longer and more expensive option of a trial in a courtroom. For more information on this, you can search 'Family Mediation' and find more in-depth information.
Learn More About the Divorce Process
These are four of the essential steps that you need to be aware of in the divorce process. Being prepared for these steps can make the experience less painful and make things go more smoothly.
For more relevant information, check out other recent posts in the Blog.