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Filing a Petition

The opening legal salvo in the divorce is the filing of a petition.

This is simply a one-page or two-page form on which one party (or his or her lawyer) writes information like name and address, and requests a divorce.

Sometimes, the form asks for the reason for the divorce. But the reason given is typically a standard phrase like "irreconcilable differences."

The form is then usually hand-carried to the clerk of the relevant courthouse. (This is typically the courthouse in the county where the person filing the petition for divorce lives.)

There is nothing irrevocable about this; the filing may be "withdrawn." But a filing is an important step emotionally. Most people don't file a petition until they are really ready to get divorced.

Petitions typically give a limited amount of time, such as 30 days, for the other party to line up a lawyer and file a response.

Some strategists think it is best to be the one who files the petition. Click here for more on this.

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