Divorce - how to start, how to prepare?

When a decision is made to marry, marry ... wedding .... then a common future, children, home and family holidays are planned. Then you don't think about a possible breakup and divorce, let alone its conditions. However, the life and professional practice in law offices shows that nowadays more marriages fall apart - divorce than it was just a few or a dozen years ago. What are the reasons for this? The answer to this question can be provided by a specialist, e.g. a psychologist or a sociologist. In this text, however, we will consider in legal terms how to prepare for it, what awaits both spouses during the court proceedings and afterwards. Contrary to appearances, divorce cases are very difficult, not only for the interested parties, but also for the attorneys representing them. Each case of this type is accompanied by great emotions, often stress, nervousness and also pain. After all, something is ending ... that was never supposed to end.

Let's start from the beginning

The court rules on divorce if the spouses have permanently and completely broken down. It happens when all ties between the spouses are broken - 1. spiritual (emotional, "I don't love you anymore"), 2. physical (intercourse), 3. economic (running a house / farm together). It is worth noting that if the spouses still live with each other (which is not so rare), and thus the economic ties are still preserved, then with the complete cessation of spiritual and physical ties, the court may order a divorce anyway. In such a situation, the court, in a divorce decree, rules on the use of the apartment during the time the divorced spouses live in it. We should also remember that divorce is irreversible - once it is pronounced, it is not possible to restore the marriage.

Therefore, it should be considered whether your relationship meets the above-mentioned premises. It may turn out that the breakdown of marriage exists, but is not yet permanent or complete, or there is a chance for it to be rebuilt - then the court will not 'grant' a divorce (not every divorce petition ends with its decision), or the decision will be separation. If, on the other hand, your marriage relationship is different from what it was at the beginning, if one of the parties was cheating, was physically or psychologically abusive, or your relationship broke up for some other reason, it's time to seriously consider specific legal actions.

Divorce with or without guilt?

When deciding to take the difficult step of filing a divorce petition, you will still have to make some tough but necessary decisions in this proceeding. First, a party has to decide whether it wants a divorce adjudication of fault or not. This is not an easy topic in family law. Everything, of course, depends on the specific case, the circumstances and reasons for the breakdown of the marriage - betrayal, incompatibility of characters, cessation of feelings ... how many things there are, so many individual reasons for the breakdown of the relationship. If it is difficult for you to make a decision on your own, it will certainly be helpful to talk to a lawyer who will advise you and help you make the best decision in a given situation.

The options are as follows: the court may decide on a divorce through the sole fault of one of the parties, through the fault of both parties, or dissolve the marriage by divorce without adjudicating (without adjudicating) on ​​fault. It should be noted that during the court proceedings, the party will be able to change its decision, i.e. if the petition for non-adjudication is filed, while the defendant wants to dissolve the marriage through the fault of both parties, then, for example, the claimant may change the application to divorce due to the sole fault of the defendant - of course, this is only an example, and there may be several configurations in this case.

Moreover, when requesting the determination of fault - one should have evidence confirming the given circumstances (this applies to both the claimant and the defendant). It can be both documentary evidence, as well as personal evidence - i.e. witnesses, as well as others whose credibility and power is assessed by the court, according to its own conviction, on the basis of a comprehensive consideration of the collected material. In addition to hearing witnesses, evidence is taken during the proceedings of hearing the parties. It should be remembered that in a divorce case, the court cannot accept as true the claimant's statements only because they were not contradicted by the defendant. Additionally, in divorce cases, the court may also issue a judgment by default - more on this in this article: Absence from the divorce hearing.

Guilt and alimony

Sometimes the willingness to adjudicate is not solely dictated by the intention to prove who is responsible for the breakdown of the marriage, but also has financial consequences. Well, the question of guilt directly affects the possibility of applying for and obtaining maintenance from the other spouse. Alimony may be just not only the child, but also the former spouse. If one of the spouses has been found solely guilty of the breakdown of the marriage, and the material situation of the innocent spouse will significantly deteriorate as a result of the do it yourself divorce in California online, the court may order maintenance on him. On the other hand, in a situation where a spouse not found solely guilty of the breakdown of the marriage (i.e., for example, the adjudication of guilt has been abandoned or both parties have been found guilty), is in a deficiency - he may demand that the other spouse provide the means of subsistence. Alimony must be adequate, taking into account the justified needs of the entitled person and correspond to the income and financial possibilities of the oblige.

Childcare after divorce and alimony

An obligatory element in the divorce decree is the decision on parental authority over minor children of the parties, as well as on contacts and alimony. However, the court will not adjudicate on maintaining contact with the child if both spouses jointly submit an appropriate application in this regard. It is important that in the course of divorce proceedings, the court takes into account the spouses' written agreement on how to exercise parental responsibility and maintain contacts (of course, if the agreement is in the best interests of the child). Currently, courts more and more often adjudicate the so-called alternating power, consisting in the fact that both parents are still entitled to parental responsibility, while the minor child or children stays, for example, for a week with one, another week with the other parent. Siblings should be brought up together.

However, if the spouses did not agree on the parental responsibility, then the court may entrust the exercise of parental authority to one of the parents, with the parental authority being limited by the other parent.