How to File Pro se Divorce?
How to File Pro se Divorce?
How to File Pro se Divorce?
Statistics across the country for filing Divorce as a pro se litigant is increasing so rapidly that many courts have altered their services to meet the needs. Legal processes can be very overwhelming, especially as a pro se, if you don't have the knowledge. Research being an important key to pro se, right attitude makes a big difference. Here's how to file Pro se Divorce...
To begin with let's look at few terms first.
Divorce also known as dissolution of marriage is termination or dissolution of the bonds, duties and responsibilities of marriage between two parties.
Divorce Petition also referred as Petition of Divorce or Letter of Complaint, is a request to the court to grant a divorce and any listed relief to the party filing it.
Petitioner is the party in divorce who files the divorce petition.
Respondent is the party in divorce against whom the divorce petition is filed and served.
A Pro se litigant is an individual advocating on one's own behalf before the court, rather than being represented by a lawyer. Also, referred as self-representation.
Pro se Divorce is a divorce case involving one party or both parties involved in the divorce as Pro se litigant.
Although laws vary depending on your jurisdiction and details of your case, listed below are the general steps for filing Pro se Divorce.
1. First find out your State Divorce Laws, whether you are eligible to file divorce. Most states require you to be a resident of that state for a period (varying between 90 days to 1 year) before you can file a divorce.
2. As per your state eligibility you would now know which Court exactly to file the divorce. You can make a couple of calls to the Court's Clerk office to confirm the same.
3. The Court will provide the necessary forms to file divorce. You might also find such forms on the Court's official website. There is no fee for the forms, however while filing the Petition there is a fee which varies from Court to Court. You might want to know this fee amount before hand to be prepared to pay it while filing the Petition.
4. If you cannot afford the filing fee, then you can file an affidavit with the Court to waive the fees. If so, then collect the affidavit with the forms. If a judge approves your affidavit, your filing fee and other court costs will be waived.
5. Fill up the Petition for Divorce form carefully and make 2 copies. The original form is to be submitted to the Court. You will need one copy to serve to your spouse and one copy for your own reference. If you are filing an affidavit to waive filing fees, you need to fill it up and make a copy for your reference.
6. Submit the original Petition and the 2 copies to the Court's clerk along with the corresponding fees. The Clerk will date and stamp the papers and return the 2 copies back to you. If you are filling an affidavit to waive filing fees, you need to submit it too.
7. Now you need to inform your spouse legally about the Petition for Divorce. This is done by serving the Pro se Respondent that is your spouse, with the Petition and giving the Respondent an opportunity to learn that he/she is sued and he/she can defend accordingly.
8. The Petition for Divorce can be served to the Respondent in multiple ways like, personal handover, snail mail, email, public posting or through most commonly practiced way, Process Servers, etc. depending on what the jurisdiction and Court permits.
9. Throughout the litigation, as a Petitioner always remember to keep the Respondent updated about the hearing dates.
10. After this the litigation gets more intricate based on the children, assets, debts, mortgages, etc. Like you can file a notice of hearing for temporary order for child custody, child support, etc.
11. The litigation further moves towards various directions like discovery, settlement, mediation, trial, etc. depending on the case details.
Always remember to keep your emotions away as much as possible and win your case by concentrating on legal procedures. Normally the Court and the Judge would help a Pro se litigant as long as you are making genuine efforts to prove your case by taking care of all legal aspects as much as you can! Good Luck!
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