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.
Showing posts with label divorce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label divorce. Show all posts
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Friday, June 19, 2009
Order of Protection - an example of how they start
I have recently been seeing many exparte orders filed right before or along with the divorce filing -- especially when the parties have one or more child. It's truly saddening.
Here's a rather typical scenario: John and Mary decide to divorce. Mary wants the house and kids. Mary and John have an argument. Mary calls the cops. Mary says she's scared. John says he didn't do anything. The police officer tells John he needs to leave for the night.
Next day: John comes home. Mary doesn't want him there. She drives up to the local courthouse and files an ex parte petition asking the court to keep John out of the house because she says she needs to be protected from him. She also asks the court to give her custody of the children, child support from John, possession of the house even though she wants John to continue to pay the mortgage. She even asks the court to order John into counseling.
When John arrives home after having been asked to spend the night elsewhere by the police, should he pack his clothes up and put them in his pick up truck? Should he pack up his shaving kit, his hunting rifle and his tools and put them in his pick up truck?
There is a knock at the door. The police have come to serve John with the ex parte order. John answers the door - Mary is still not home. The police serve John the order and tell John to leave the house immediately. If he's lucky, they will allow him to pull together a few things (e.g. underwear and socks) to take with him (the hunting rifle won't be one of the things the police will allow John to take). If he's not so lucky to be allowed to collect socks and underwear, the police will just tell him to leave.
Once the police serve the ex parte order and escort John from the home, he won't be able to come back until the court says he can come back. He won't be able to get any of his personal belongings until the court says he can get them.
Perhaps even more important than socks and underwear, John won't be able to see his kids until the court says he can see his kids.
Here's a rather typical scenario: John and Mary decide to divorce. Mary wants the house and kids. Mary and John have an argument. Mary calls the cops. Mary says she's scared. John says he didn't do anything. The police officer tells John he needs to leave for the night.
Next day: John comes home. Mary doesn't want him there. She drives up to the local courthouse and files an ex parte petition asking the court to keep John out of the house because she says she needs to be protected from him. She also asks the court to give her custody of the children, child support from John, possession of the house even though she wants John to continue to pay the mortgage. She even asks the court to order John into counseling.
When John arrives home after having been asked to spend the night elsewhere by the police, should he pack his clothes up and put them in his pick up truck? Should he pack up his shaving kit, his hunting rifle and his tools and put them in his pick up truck?
There is a knock at the door. The police have come to serve John with the ex parte order. John answers the door - Mary is still not home. The police serve John the order and tell John to leave the house immediately. If he's lucky, they will allow him to pull together a few things (e.g. underwear and socks) to take with him (the hunting rifle won't be one of the things the police will allow John to take). If he's not so lucky to be allowed to collect socks and underwear, the police will just tell him to leave.
Once the police serve the ex parte order and escort John from the home, he won't be able to come back until the court says he can come back. He won't be able to get any of his personal belongings until the court says he can get them.
Perhaps even more important than socks and underwear, John won't be able to see his kids until the court says he can see his kids.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Do I have to move from my house if I file for divorce in Missouri?
From time to time urban legends relating to family law matters get passed around. This morning one was passed my way. The scary thing about this legend is that it was attributed to an attorney (who should have known better).
Supposedly, if you file for divorce here in Missouri, you have to move out of your house and let your spouse stay. Here's the real skinny on that: All things being equal, you don't have to move out of your house just because you file a divorce here in Missouri. I can't vouch for other states (I don't practice in other states). But here in Missouri, all things being equal, you don't have to move just because you file for a divorce.
The kinds of things that make things not equal generally involve one of the spouses behaving badly. Such as - hitting, shoving, and other similar bad behaviors. In those cases, one or the other of the spouses will leave the house, whether voluntarily or otherwise.
Conversely, if you want to move out of the house when you file for divorce - you can do that. You just don't have to unless there is something about your particular situation that requires you to move.
Supposedly, if you file for divorce here in Missouri, you have to move out of your house and let your spouse stay. Here's the real skinny on that: All things being equal, you don't have to move out of your house just because you file a divorce here in Missouri. I can't vouch for other states (I don't practice in other states). But here in Missouri, all things being equal, you don't have to move just because you file for a divorce.
The kinds of things that make things not equal generally involve one of the spouses behaving badly. Such as - hitting, shoving, and other similar bad behaviors. In those cases, one or the other of the spouses will leave the house, whether voluntarily or otherwise.
Conversely, if you want to move out of the house when you file for divorce - you can do that. You just don't have to unless there is something about your particular situation that requires you to move.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Limited Representation - The Third Option for Divorcing Couples
The Missouri Supreme Court has given its residents a third option for divorcing couples - besides hiring a lawyer at his or her regular hourly fee or representing yourself. They call that third option "Limited Representation."
For people who have relatively simple, straightforward issues in their dissolution of marriage action, this alternative offers a great way to get a divorce with as little hassle as possible. And, you know upfront exactly what you are paying for and what the cost is.
Even if you and your spouse have children this option may work for you if both parents agree as to the schedule on which you will be parenting the children. If both parents have agreed to abide by the child support amount that the Missouri Supreme Court has set out, you just need to tell the lawyer that you need to have a child support calculation done as a part of your limited representation.
There are, as you might suppose, situations in which limited representation will not serve you well. Examples of situations where limited representation may not serve you well are:
(1) if you or your spouse have a house, a retirement plan or other significant assets,
(2) If you have an issue with regard to parenting your children - whether that issue is the amount of time that each of you will spend with the children or whether the issue involves special needs of a child, or
(3) if you have a long marriage and one of the spouses needs alimony (called maintenance in Missouri).
For people who have relatively simple, straightforward issues in their dissolution of marriage action, this alternative offers a great way to get a divorce with as little hassle as possible. And, you know upfront exactly what you are paying for and what the cost is.
Even if you and your spouse have children this option may work for you if both parents agree as to the schedule on which you will be parenting the children. If both parents have agreed to abide by the child support amount that the Missouri Supreme Court has set out, you just need to tell the lawyer that you need to have a child support calculation done as a part of your limited representation.
There are, as you might suppose, situations in which limited representation will not serve you well. Examples of situations where limited representation may not serve you well are:
(1) if you or your spouse have a house, a retirement plan or other significant assets,
(2) If you have an issue with regard to parenting your children - whether that issue is the amount of time that each of you will spend with the children or whether the issue involves special needs of a child, or
(3) if you have a long marriage and one of the spouses needs alimony (called maintenance in Missouri).
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