A divorce or legal separation case starts with one spouse (the petitioner) filing a petition with the court, and then delivering a copy of the petition to the other spouse (the respondent). The divorce or legal separation will end by trial or by the spouses entering into a Marital Settlement Agreement.
In between the filing of the petition, and the end of the case by trial or Marital Settlement Agreement, many things can happen. The spouses can ask the judge to make temporary orders on custody, visitation, child support, spousal support, and/or control over community property, until things are finally resolved. When a spouse or his/her attorney wants the judge to make a temporary order on one of those issues, the attorney files a motion or an ‘OSC’.
Additionally, between the filing of the petition and prior to the end of the case, the spouses are required by law to fill out and give to each other ‘Declarations of Disclosure’. In these declarations of disclosure, each spouse is required to list all of his/her assets and debts, and all of his/her income and expenses. This step is required even if the spouses are friendly with each other and want to resolve their case with a Marital Settlement Agreement.
During the divorce process, the attorneys will also engage in the discovery process. Discovery is the process by which the attorneys investigate whatever disputes there are between the spouses. For example, when one spouse is accusing the other spouse of being abusive to the children, both attorneys will investigate to determine whether these accusations are truthful or not. As another example, where one spouse is accusing the other spouse of hiding a community asset, the attorneys will investigate to see whether that accusation is true. The attorneys can investigate by sending questionnaires to the opposing party, interviewing witnesses, and/or by subpoenaing documents.
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