It important to understand the process for domestic actions. Here are the basics:
If you believe that your partner or spouse will be able and willing to enter into an Agreement with you, the process may begin with a simple letter offering to send a Settlement. If the various items can be negotiated, and the parties can reach agreement, most of the work will be done with an “Agreed” entry of some sort that gets filed with the county court.
Most everything includes an initial filing of some sort in the county court where one of the parties has resided for a defined period of time.
The type of filing depends on the situation. Here are the options if there are children:
If there are unmarried parents of minor children, a Motion for Custody will be filed in the Juvenile Court. The person filing the first Motion will be called the “Petitioner”. Filing fees will be paid to the court by the Petitioner.
If the parents are married, and no agreement can be reached between the parties, it begins with a Complaint for Divorce. The initial filing will include certain Affidavits signed by the person who initiated the Divorce action (called the “Plaintiff”). Often the initial filing will include a Motion for “Mutual Restraining Orders” instructing the parties not to incur debt on behalf of one another, not to remove the child(ren) from the state, etc. Filing fees will be paid to the court by the Plaintiff.
The court (including the judges and the magistrates) and most attorneys are hopeful that the parties will have time, and the inclination, to work out many of the details of the situation. It is in everyone’s best interest that fair resolutions are found, but often the parties are angry with one another, or lack the skills to work out their own resolution. But everyone is working toward that possibility. It ends up with lower costs, fewer ongoing bad feelings, and a better foundation for the next phase of the relationship.
If there are children, even though the parties are changing their relationship, they will have many years of involvement – as parents — with one another. It is important that issues get resolved as completely as possible and everyone knows that. The overriding principle is to identify “what is in the best interests of the child(ren)”!
