Divorce Procedure

1. The action is commenced with a filing of a Summons and Petition for Divorce.
2. The pleadings are served on your spouse.
3. Your spouse may file a Response and Counter-Claim
4. Temporary Orders are entered two-six weeks after the action is filed.
5. A Pre-Trial is held approximately four - six months after the pleadings are served. Our goal is to complete the divorce on this date.
6. If there are still issues in dispute or information that has not yet been obtained, a trial date will be obtained.
7. If the issues can be resolved and a settlement reached prior to the date of trial, a stipulated entry of divorce will be entered.
8. If all issues are not resolved, a trial to the judge will be held and any remaining issues presented to the court for a decision.

Property Division: When a couple has been married for any length of time, it is likely that they have obtained assets together. If the marriage is dissolved, those assets need to be valued and divided in a manner that is fair and considers the needs of both parties.

Spousal Support: Maintenance is an allowance which husband or wife pays to the other spouse for support while they are separated or after they are divorced. As with other aspects of a divorce settlement, determining if alimony is appropriate and calculating amounts can be complex.

Child Custody: Custody grants the rights and responsibilities to one or both parents to make major decisions concerning the child as determined by the court or the agreement of both parties. Some of these major decisions are consent to marry before eighteen, consent to enter military service before eighteen, consent to obtain a driver's license, authorization for non-emergency health care, choice of school and religion. The determination of whether custody should be sole or joint is based on the best interest of the child with a presumption that joint custody is usually best for the child .

Child Placement: Physical placement means where the child is physically placed. If the parties do not agree on the physical placement schedule, there is a procedure through the courts to help the parties reach an agreement. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, the court makes a decision. In making the decision, the court considers all facts relevant to the best interest of the child. Some of the factors the court considers are:

• The wishes of the child's parents
• The wishes of the child, which may be communicated by the child or through the child's guardian ad litem or other professional
• The interaction and interrelationship of the child with his or her parents, siblings, and any other person who may significantly affect the child's best interest
• The amount and quality of time that each parent has spent with the child in the past, any necessary changes to the parents' custodial roles and any reasonable life-style changes that a parent proposes to make to be able to spend time with the child in the future
• The child's adjustment to the home, school, religion and community
• The age of the child and the child's developmental and educational needs at different ages
• The mental and physical health of the parties, the minor children and other persons living in the proposed custodial household
• The need for regularly occurring and meaningful periods pf physical placement to provide predictability and stability for the child
• The availability of public or private child care services
• The cooperation and communication between the parties and whether either party unreasonably refuses to cooperate or communicate with the other party
• Whether each party can support the other party's relationship with the child, including encouraging and facilitating frequent and continuing contact with the child, or whether one party is likely to unreasonably interfere with the child's continuing relationship with the other party.

Child Support: It is undisputed that divorce has emotional implications on the family. Financial implications can be almost as daunting. Child support is based on the amount of time that the child spends with each of their parents and the incomes of the parties. We will work with you to ensure that the proper amounts are being paid taking into consideration not only the child support formulas but also health insurance and dependency exemptions.