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Divorce Attorney
Divorce attorney prepares the initial paperwork called a divorce petition or summons, and it outlines all the important information about your marriage and what is being asked for in the divorce. This paperwork needs to be filed with the proper court, usually in the county where the filing spouse resides.
The next step is to have divorce papers served on your spouse. This lets your spouse know that papers have been filed at the courthouse to start the divorce process. It also lets them know what is being asked for and how much time they have to respond.
For the divorce to actually proceed, the court will need proof that your spouse was served with the petition. If you have a divorce attorney handling your divorce, he or she will probably take care of all this for you.
If you are proceeding on fault grounds, i.e. cruelty, desertion, adultery, you can file immediately. If the matter is contested it can take six months or a year or more to go through the process of litigating the fault grounds and the equitable distribution and support issues
A "fault" divorce is one in which one party blames the other for the failure of the marriage by citing wrongdoing. Grounds for fault can include adultery, physical or mental cruelty, desertion, alcohol or drug abuse, insanity, impotence or infecting the other spouse with a venereal disease
Many states now permit "no-fault" divorces. A no-fault divorce is one in which neither spouse blames the other for the breakdown of the marriage. Both spouses agree that "irreconcilable differences" have arisen, and that neither time nor counseling will save the marriage; it simply will not work. A "no-fault" divorce is a more humane way to end a marriage in those states that permit it.
The Collaborative Divorce Process is a way of practicing law where the attorneys for both of the parties in a divorce agree to assist them in resolving conflict or legal issues using cooperative strategies rather than adversarial techniques and court proceedings.
There are many advantages to using an attorney that practices Collaborative Divorce Law. The process is usually less time consuming and more cost effective than going through the adversarial system. The Collaborative Process uses a team approach to reaching a settlement. Both parties to the divorce are supported by their lawyers; however, they work cooperatively with their spouse. The process is much less fear and anxiety producing than using court proceedings or the threat of court proceedings. When the threat of going to court is out of the picture, it is easier to focus on reaching a settlement. When a settlement is reached amicably, it feels much more like a 'win-win' situation. In the Collaborative Process, there is a parity of payment to each attorney so that neither party's representation is deprived by lack of funds. |
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