Dissolution of Marriage

After you speak with an attorney at Naimish & Lewis and we have developed the best strategy and plan for your case, a Summons and Petition for Dissolution of Marriage/Domestic Partnership, with supporting documents, must be filed with the court and the required court fees must be paid to the court in order to start the divorce process.

Immediately upon filing your documents with the court, they are ready to be served on the Respondent (other party) by a third party who is over the age of 18 (not the Petitioner) and are most commonly served via mail or personal service. Naimish & Lewis can assist you with this service.

It is important to note that once a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage is filed with the Court, Automatic Temporary Restraining Orders (referred to as “ATROs”) are put into place.

Once the Respondent has been served, the Petitioner must wait 30 days for a response. This waiting period is the perfect time to begin compiling all financial information in your case, if you have not already done so prior to filing your Petition. All information related to assets, debts, income and expenses are referred to as your Preliminary Declaration of Disclosures and are required to be served on the Respondent, along with the last two years of tax returns, within 60 days of the date your Petition for Dissolution of Marriage is filed with the Court. In most cases, the Responding party is required to serve their Declaration of Disclosures on the Petitioner as well.

You and your spouse may not agree on many things in your case, and Naimish & Lewis will work hard on your behalf to negotiate settlement. If a settlement is not reached between you and your spouse, you both may decide to attend Mediation. If you and your spouse are unable to come to an agreement once Mediation is complete, your case will have to go to trial and a judge will resolve the remaining issues in your matter. No matter the path your case may take, Naimish & Lewis will be by your side through the entire process.

For more information on ATRO’s, please see the following link What Are ATRO’s? 

For more information on Declaration of Disclosures, please see the following link: Declaration of Disclosures.

If all issues are resolved without the court’s assistance, Naimish & Lewis will prepare a Marital Settlement Agreement for the signature of the parties. This Agreement will contain all assets and debts and how they are to be divided, as well as what the parties have agreed to with regard to any issues surrounding support, visitation and custody, if applicable. If a Trial is required, then a Judge will make the final orders in the case.

All final documentation and Agreements will then be submitted to the court on your behalf.  You are not divorced until the court enters your Judgment for Dissolution of Marriage. The entering of your Judgment may not be immediate, but once your divorce is finalized our office will provide you with the final judgment in your case.

It is again important to note that the earliest you can be divorced is six months and one day from the date the initial pleadings are filed with the Court. This does NOT mean that you will be divorced within 6 months of starting your case, it simply means you cannot be divorced any earlier than six months and one day from the date your case commences.

What if the Responding Party Does Not File a Response
with The Court within 30 Days?

Default Divorce: If, after 30 days from the date the Petition of Dissolution of Marriage was served on Respondent you have not received a response, a request to the Court to enter a default judgment can be submitted. To make sure the default judgment states what you want it to order, you must have a detailed Declaration of Disclosure and Petition filed at the beginning of the case.

What is the Process for a Legal Separation?
Why Would I Want to do it?

The process for a Legal Separation is similar to a Divorce; however, you and your spouse do not need to wait 6 months to have a judgment for legal separation entered by the court, and, unlike a divorce, both parties MUST agree to the legal separation. If the Petitioner files for a legal separation and the Respondent files for divorce, the court will recognize the case as a divorce proceeding.

You and your spouse may choose to legally separate if one spouse needs to keep their benefits or medical/health insurance, or for a variety of financial benefits, such as pension or social security requirements. Property will still be divided and support and custody will still be agreed upon/ordered in a legal separation matter. The main difference between a legal separation and a divorce is that the parties will still be married and may not remarry once the judgment is entered.