The divorce process in the United States begins with a petition for divorce. Whether or not both parties agree to the divorce, one of the spouses (the plaintiff) must file a legal petition asking the court to end the marriage. In some states, couples who cannot reconcile but do not want to file for a divorce can apply to the court for a legal separation. Legal separation may be appropriate in marriages where the couple's religion prohibits divorce, where the couple must remain married for health or tax reasons, or, in some cases, to share Social Security benefits. Not all states offer legal separation, but in those that do, the process is very similar to traditional divorce, except that, in the end, you are still legally married.
Both spouses must agree to file for a separation. If either spouse requests a divorce, the court will proceed with the traditional divorce. Divorce in the United States is a legal process in which a judge or other authority dissolves an existing marriage between two people. Divorce restores people to single status and allows them to marry other people. In the United States, marriage and divorce are under the jurisdiction of state governments, not the federal government.
If you have decided that divorce is the right option for you, you will need to start the legal process to start your divorce case. Collaborative divorce (uncontested divorce) is becoming a popular method for divorcing couples to come to an agreement on divorce issues. Before the last decades of the 20th century, divorce was considered contrary to the public interest and civil courts refused to grant a divorce, except if one of the parties to the marriage had betrayed the innocent spouse. A summary divorce means that the spouses have discussed the terms required by state law to issue a divorce and have reached a mutual agreement. Resolving your divorce may not be easy, but if you start negotiations with the understanding that you and your spouse will have to sacrifice a little to get together in the middle, you will spend much less time and money on your divorce than if you go to trial. Fault divorces require the filing spouse to prove the allegations in court, so this process tends to take much longer and cost more than a no-fault divorce. Almost every state has a waiting period that the court must allow to pass before it can finalize the divorce; this is the state's way of giving couples time to reconcile or negotiate terms of their divorce.
The National Bar Association played a decisive role in convincing state bar associations to create family law sections in many courts and around 1960 strongly advocated for no-fault divorce laws (cf.). In addition, there are no deadlines required to complete a divorce (through collaborative divorce).During the final divorce hearing, the court will ask questions on record while you are under oath; this is done to verify that all requirements of your state's divorce laws are met. Most lawyers who practice collaborative divorce claim that it can be substantially less expensive than other methods of divorcing (regular or mediated). In the mid-to-late 19th century, US citizens obtained more divorces annually than were granted in all of Europe. Once collaborative divorce begins, lawyers are disqualified from representing either party in any contested legal proceedings should it end prematurely.
Divorce mediators can be lawyers, mental health professionals or financial experts with experience in such cases. No-fault divorces mean that filing spouses do not need to prove any wrongdoing on behalf of their partner. A divorce permanently dissolves your marriage but with separation couples remain legally married until one spouse files for formal dissolution.
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