Steps to Take When You Are Ready to Start Your Uncontested Divorce

So you're ready. Now what?

You and your spouse have made the decision, you've read up on the process, and you're ready to get the uncontested divorce moving. This article is the practical to-do list for that moment - the handful of steps between "we've decided" and "the case is filed." There are five of them, and none are difficult.

Step one: Confirm the agreement is actually complete

First things first - before any paperwork gets drafted, make sure you and your spouse have agreed on everything, not just the big-ticket items. Assets, debts, and, if there are children, custody, the Parenting Plan, and child support. Maintenance needs an answer too, even if the answer is that both parties waive it. If you're not sure whether your agreement covers everything it needs to, the Missouri Uncontested Divorce Checklists exist for exactly this purpose. The test, as always: both parties ready, willing and able to sign.

Step two: Gather your information

Nothing exotic here - the paperwork needs the facts. Full legal names, dates of birth, date and place of marriage, date of separation, addresses, employers, and the details of what's being divided: account types, vehicle years and makes, the legal description of any real estate, retirement plan names, and approximate balances, give or take. If there are children: names, birthdates, and the custody schedule you've agreed on. Fifteen minutes with a notepad now saves three rounds of "let me check on that" later.

Step three: Choose your intake route

Two doors, same destination. The online submission - available since 2013, and now the starting point for roughly 300 to 400 cases per year - lets you enter everything from your couch, and is the right choice for most cases. The Uncontested Divorce Intake Packet is the better route if your asset situation is on the complex side - multiple properties, several retirement accounts, business interests, and so on - where the extra room to explain comes in handy. And of course, you can always start things off by phone, email, or an office visit (by appointment only).

Step four: Review, revise, and sign

Rough drafts of all of your paperwork will be in your hands within two to three days. You and your spouse read everything - actually read it, please - and send back anything that needs adjusting. Revisions are made within 24 hours at no charge, and we repeat until it's right. Then both parties sign, with notarized signatures where required.

Step five: There is no step five

Once the signed paperwork and the $150 filing fee are in, I file the case, the mandatory 30-day waiting period starts running, and the case is out of your hands, and into mine - couldn't be easier. From there, I take it from there. Your only remaining job is to go about your life for 45 to 60 days, give or take, until word arrives that the Judgment has been entered.

To recap:

• Confirm the agreement covers everything - assets, debts, custody, support, maintenance.
• Gather the facts and figures the paperwork will need.
• Start via the online submission (most cases) or the intake packet (complex estates).
• Review the drafts, request revisions freely, and sign.
• I take it from there.

Thank you for reading. Please feel free to contact me for more information.