Divorce Process

Interrogatories

Interrogatories (Requests for Further Information) are often used in the divorce process as written questions dealing with legal or factual contentions. These requests for further information are asked by one of the parties in the divorce, and are required to be answered by the other party. The primary purpose of interrogatories is to… Read Full Post

Depositions

A deposition is a generic legal term that refers to written or oral questions.
Written Depositions
In a written deposition, a notice of intent is the document that contains the questions for the deponent to respond to. The deponent is then asked the questions (as well as any cross, redirect, and recross questions) contained in the… Read Full Post

Request for Disclosure

Requet for disclosure is one aspect of the divorce discovery process. The purpose is to “discover” all relevant information about each party in the divorce. In the request for disclosure phase, there is no preparation used for a lengthy inquiry, and no objections in discovering specific categories of information. If one party… Read Full Post

Divorce Decree

The final decree of divorce is one of the last things that happens in the divorce process. It is the court’s formal order that grants the termination of marriage. The signing and dating of the divorce decree may also confirm a judgment in the cases where the divorce goes to trial.
The divorce decree covers many… Read Full Post

Original Petition for Divorce

The original petition for divorce (known as a letter of complaint in some states), is the document that initiates the divorce process when filed with the court clerk. In starting the divorce, the original petition for divorce requests that the courts grant a divorce and also list out everything that the person filing for… Read Full Post

Separation Agreements

A separation agreement is known as a marital separation agreement, property settlement agreement, or just MSA for short. Its primary function is to define the terms of legal separation for both parties. The main guidelines include child support, child custody, child visitation, alimony, and division of assets and debts.
Basically, it outlines all of the guidelines… Read Full Post

Temporary Orders

A temporary order is a legally binding short term divorce decree that sets forth some guidelines for both parties in a divorce. The temporary order is binding until the divorce court makes its final divorce decree. Here are some of the guidelines that may exist in the order:
- Specify who gets to live in the… Read Full Post

Participation Agreements

A participation agreement is one of the documents that is used in a collaborative divorce. To refresh from a previous post on what a collaborative divorce is, it is basically a divorce process in which both parties agree not to go to divorce court.
The role of the participation agreement in a collaborative divorce is… Read Full Post

Electronic Divorce

Do you feel like you don’t have time for anything? Are you texting people while you are driving to save time? Do you like the convienence of ordering pizza online rather than bothering to pick up the phone? If you answered yes to any of these questions then Electronic Divorce might be for you.
Why bother… Read Full Post

Legal Separation Basics

Legal separation has three aliases: separate maintenance, divorce a mensa et thoro, and divorce from bed-and-board. It is often used as a trial period to see if divorce is a better option than keeping the marriage. Many times a couple will use this period to date other people and basically just try new things. If… Read Full Post