The Uncontested Divorce Process

In order to complete your dissolution paperwork, I need information. Much of the info that I'll need is demographic - names, dates of birth, addresses, etc. In addition, I will need a rundown of your property and debt and, if children are involved, the custody and support arrangements you and your spouse have agreed upon.

Of course, you'll have to pay in order to get your case started. Work does not begin until an agreed-upon payment is made and your representation has commenced. The exact fee will depend on what sort of information you present me with in step one.

I get moving on uncontested divorce cases very quickly. I start without delay and I work fast, all while remaining focused on the quality and accuracy of your pleadings. The circumstances surrounding divorce are often fluid, and capable of changing in an instant. The longer it takes me to get the paperwork out to you and your spouse for review, the more time there is for things to go south. I never want a case that could have proceeded through as a quick and amicable divorce to fall apart due to how long it took for me to prepare your paperwork. That being so, I work hard to complete your paperwork quickly, usually within two to three days of being hired.

Once I have drafted up all of the pleadings necessary to facilitate the divorce, the substantive documents are sent out to the client for review. For cases without children, that substantive document is the Marital Settlement Agreement, which controls the distribution of the parties' assets and debts. If children are involved, then a Parenting Plan is sent out for review as well. The client and their spouse review the rough drafts and then the client lets me know what agreed-upon additions, corrections, and revisions are necessary. The changes required are generally called or e-mailed in to me, but you're welcomed to stop by the office and chat about the changes as well (by appointment only, please). Important to note - there are no additional fees or charges for revisions made to your pleadings.

Once we've gone through the drafting-feedback-revisions loop as many times as necessary in order to get the settlement documents just-right, we then move on to signing. In cases without children, there will generally be four pleadings signed only by the filing party / Petitioner / client, two pleadings signed only by the spouse / Respondent / unrepresented party, and three pleadings signed by both parties. Many of the signatures will need to be notarized.

Once I have the signed pleadings (and the filing fee, which I'll request you provide upon signing, or upon returning the signed pleadings to my office, in the event you signed remotely), it is then time to file your case. I will file your case the same day I receive the signed pleadings, as the faster I get the case filed, the faster the thirty-day mandatory waiting period begins. The faster we get the waiting period ticking away, the faster I can finalize your case. The faster I can finalize your case, the faster you can move on with your post-dissolution life.

In the good old days (about four years ago now), an attorney's willingness to hustle really influenced how quickly a case would be wrapped up at the end of the waiting period. Back then, on the first day possible after the waiting period lapsed, I would appear in court, pull your file, and submit it to the Judge for review. Having that physical court file allowed me to wait for a Judge to be available and then, once he or she was free, I could hand the file directly to the Judge. If the Judge had a free moment, I would then, generally, be able to get the Judgment signed on the spot, which meant the client was divorced, basically, as quickly as the law would allow. Those days are now over with the advent of e-filing. Now, at the conclusion of the waiting period, I submit your final paperwork to the Judge online, and it sits in a queue until the Judge gets around to it. E-filing does cut down on the miles I put on my car, and the amount of time I spend sitting in chambers waiting for a Judge to become available, but it significantly limits my ability to influence the timeline of your case once the final judgment has been submitted.

Once the Judge reviews and signs off on everything (assuming he or she approves of the terms you and your spouse have agreed on (they almost always will) the divorce is final and complete. The date the Judge signs off is the official date of dissolution. Once I have the news that the case is final and complete, I notify you immediately. You receive a PDF of the final paperwork via e-mail, and you and your ex-spouse receive hardcopies in the mail as well.

After the divorce is complete, there are often a few things to wrap up. I am not involved with these things, as my representation is complete once the Judge signs off on your dissolution judgment (I'm still available for any questions you may have though, of course). You and your spouse will need to carry out the terms of the Marital Settlement Agreement, including refinancing any loans you have agreed to refinance, and retitling assets you have agreed to retitle. Cash buyouts, if applicable, are paid, and child support and maintenance obligations (again, if applicable) commence. If the wife has requested a restoration of her maiden or former name, she will use the certified judgment, which arrives from the court about a month after the case is final, in order to facilitate that name change with the Social Security Office.

The settlement agreement and parenting plan will direct the parties as to when maintenance and/or child support obligations commence, as well as how long the parties have to refinance loans, pay cash buyouts, transfer assets, etc. I make sure the pleadings I draft have specific terms, so there isn't ever a question as to if and when some post-dissolution task should be completed. This is important, as it keeps parties from having disputes that, even after the divorce, could cause them to be back in court. For the simplest of cases, ones without children or jointly-titled assets or debts, there is pretty much nothing to do following the divorce being finalized.