Divorce without going to court

Did you know that it's possible for some people to get a divorce in Missouri without going to court - not even once! It's true, although not widely known.

The way it's done is through something called an affidavit for a judgment of dissolution of marriage. An affidavit is a legal paper that spells out certain facts and swears they are true. In a divorce action, if both husband and wife agree to the facts, it's call a joint affidavit. If only one of the spouses is saying the facts are true, then it is the affidavit of just that spouse.

There are some rules that govern what is supposed to go in the affidavit. And there are rules about who can get their divorce by just filing paperwork with the court.

If you and your spouse have children together, you will not be able to get a divorce with just an affidavit in many courts - even if both of you have attorneys. If one of you does not have an attorney, you won't be allowed to get a divorce by affidavit.

If you and your spouse have no children and very little property, getting a divorce without going to court is a realistice option in most cases -- as long as both of you agree on the division of the property and debts that you do have.

Divorce by affidavit was originally only available to people filing in Jackson County and some of the other more progressive counties. Now, though, it is more widely available to people residing in suburban and rural counties.

Having divorce by affidavit available to you means that you don't have to go to court. You don't have to use a vacation day, or worse yet, take an unpaid day off. For people going through the pain of a divorce, this is one of the bright spots in the system.