If you decide to get a divorce, you’ll quickly discover that there’s a lot of paperwork. There are forms to initiate the divorce, forms to request relief from the court, documents to finalize the divorce and more. In addition to filling these out accurately, it’s best to file them in a timely manner so that you can keep things moving along and end your marriage as quickly as possible.
It may seem overwhelming, but you can do this. Here, we’ll walk you through what to expect so that you feel more prepared. Read on for a summary of what kinds of divorce papers you’ll likely have to file to start and complete a divorce, plus what happens after you submit the initial paperwork.
Keep in mind, the exact divorce papers and process vary from state to state. Talk to a local court clerk or divorce attorney to learn the specifics in your area.
What do divorce papers look like?
States often provide pre-printed, fillable divorce papers that individuals may use to start divorce proceedings. You can typically obtain these forms through your court’s website or by visiting the clerk of your court.
Divorce forms tend to have a caption at the top that includes the name and the location of the court where you filed and blank spaces where you can fill in your name, your spouse’s name, your attorney’s information (if applicable) and the case number the family court gives you when you start your case. Each divorce form you submit might also have a verification at the bottom that requires you to sign a sworn statement that what you wrote on the form is true and correct.
The caption and verification blocks might remain the same on every divorce document you file, but the other information you see on divorce paperwork may change depending on what types of divorce documents you file.
Papers to start a divorce
A divorce begins when at least one spouse submits a request for a divorce and pays a filing fee to the appropriate family court. The name for this request may vary by state. For instance, Colorado and California call this request a petition for divorce. And New York calls it a verified complaint action for divorce.
On your divorce request, you’ll likely need to provide background information about you, your spouse and the characteristics of your marriage, This may include the following:
- Contact information
- Your date of birth
- Your spouse’s date of birth
- How long you or your spouse have lived in the court’s jurisdiction
- The date of your marriage
- Whether you share any children with your spouse
- Whether you or your spouse is expecting a child
- Where your children have been living
- Other domestic cases involving you or other parties in your divorce
- The reason (or ground) for requesting a divorce
Some initial divorce papers may also require you to list your assets and provide space for you to request child or spousal support.
You must file your request for divorce with the right court. In general, the right court is the court in the county where you or your spouse meet the residency requirements. This requirement varies widely. A state might require that you or your spouse live in the state for at least six months (and in a particular county for at least 90 days) before filing for divorce, or a state might require that you or your spouse live there for at least two years before you file your petition.
How to serve divorce papers
If you file for divorce alone, the court typically requires you to serve your petition for divorce and a summons on your spouse. A summons lets your spouse know that you’ve filed for divorce, tells them how much time they have to respond to your petition and informs them when they need to appear in court.
When serving divorce papers, you might need to have a sheriff, a professional process server or an adult who isn’t a party to your case deliver the paperwork to your spouse. Sheriffs and process servers typically charge a fee for this service. Whoever serves the documents needs to fill out an affidavit of service that affirms they’re qualified to serve divorce papers and describes how they delivered the papers to your spouse.
After you’ve served your spouse and submitted your affidavit of service to the court, your divorce case has begun.
How much are divorce papers?
Many states provide approved divorce forms that you can obtain free or at a minimal cost online. If your state doesn’t offer online forms or you can’t find them, you can ask the court clerk whether forms are available.
When you file your divorce papers, you need to pay a filing fee. The cost of filing for divorce changes greatly depending on where you live. For example, in Laramie County, Wyoming, the fee to start a case in district court is $70. And in California, the cost to file a divorce petition and summons is between $435 and $450.
You can call the court clerk in your jurisdiction to learn the filing fees for your divorce. You also may be able to apply for a fee waiver if you qualify due to limited financial resources.
What happens after divorce papers are filed?
Once you file your divorce papers, your spouse has an opportunity to respond. After they do, you can move forward with collecting evidence, negotiating an agreement and taking issues to trial, if necessary, to finalize your divorce.
Your spouse can submit their response
After one spouse files divorce papers, the other party has an opportunity to file a response. In this document, they may contest the filing spouse’s claims or the relief they have requested, such as:
Most states give a respondent somewhere between 21 to 30 days to respond to divorce papers. If the respondent doesn’t timely submit a response or appear in court when directed to do so, the family court might decide all divorce matters according to the spouse who filed for divorce, or at least without the respondent’s input.
The parties may have to meet to discuss how the case will proceed
Once the court has a properly served divorce petition and an answer from the other spouse (or the timeline for answering has passed), both spouses may be required to attend an initial conference to discuss what information each spouse needs to submit and other actions they need to take to finalize the divorce. Information you might have to submit before a court can issue a divorce decree could include and isn’t limited to:
- Sworn financial statements regarding your assets and liabilities
- A parenting plan to address the custody and support of children you share with your spouse
- A separation agreement regarding how you and your spouse will share debts, divide property, handle spousal support and share parenting responsibilities
The parties may engage in discovery
Discovery is the process of collecting evidence for a legal proceeding. During this phase of a divorce case, spouses might have to gather some or all of the following :
- Property records
- Financial statements
- Employment records
- School records
- Healthcare reports
- Invoices
- Court records
- Receipts
- Marriage records
- Witness information
- Leases
- Police reports
- Business records
- Reports from child welfare agencies
To obtain some of this information, you might have to file and serve a subpoena on the witness or organization that has the information. Subpoenas often have the case caption at the top of the document and a proof of service at the bottom, as well as information about when the witness must appear in court or what documents the recipient must provide to the court or the parties.
You can also request information in your spouse’s possession through interrogatories and requests for production.
The parties may file several motions to protect their interests during proceedings
The process of divorcing can be lengthy, and during that time, the parties may have concerns about their personal or financial well-being or the immediate needs of their children. For instance, they might disagree about who gets to stay in the marital home or how to treat their child’s urgent medical issue while a divorce is pending. One may also have concerns about a spouse’s threats of violence.
In these instances, you may file a motion for a preliminary injunction or temporary restraining order from the court. With an injunction or a restraining order, the court can order a spouse to comply with a specific treatment plan for their child, find different housing, stay away from a spouse or child they have threatened or take any other actions the court deems necessary.
The parties may engage in alternative dispute resolution
Some divorce cases don’t make it to court because the spouses are able to settle their differences through negotiation, arbitration or mediation. The parties may decide to do this on their own, or a court might suggest pre-trial mediation to see if the spouses can resolve some or all divorce matters without a hearing.
The parties may go to court
If you’re unable to reach an agreement with your spouse through mediation, you’ll have to take your case to court. Both parties have the opportunity to present their evidence to a judge, who makes a final decision on all divorce issues.
If you resolved some issues during mediation, you can sign a partial agreement with your spouse and have the judge consider the remaining issues. This may reduce the time and cost your trial will take.
The court enters its divorce decree
After divorcing spouses complete and sign a reasonable separation agreement, settle their issues in mediation or arbitration or argue all outstanding issues in court, the court issues a divorce decree to make the divorce official. This decree specifies how the parties will divide parenting responsibilities, liabilities and assets. It also outlines spousal support, when applicable.
If your circumstances change substantially after the court enters the decree, you may have the option of filing a petition to modify certain types of orders, like support orders and child custody. But other matters, such as property division, generally can’t be changed down the road.
How an attorney can help
Many spouses choose to use an attorney to help them with their divorce paperwork and sometimes other parts of the divorce proceedings. An experienced divorce lawyer can help you ensure all paperwork is filed timely and help gather evidence to support your claims to the relief you requested. They can also help you communicate with your spouse or their attorney when matters become tense.
Sofie is a writer. She lives in Brooklyn.
