The Complaint for Divorce (“Complaint”) sets forth all the preliminary issues in your case, i.e., whether there are minor children, whether parenting time and custody are at issue, whether there is real property at issue, and whether spousal and/or child support are at issue. Once the Complaint is filed, a Summons will issue which puts the other party on notice of the divorce proceedings and provides them with a timeframe of when they must respond to the Complaint. Once the Summons and Complaint are filed, your case is considered active, and you are assigned a case number and a Judge.

Once the Defendant has been served with the Summons and Complaint, he/she must file an Answer to the Complaint for Divorce. In the Answer, the Defendant must “answer” all of the allegations in the Complaint, indicating whether he/she agrees or denies all of the claims as it relates to custody, parenting time, support, and property. The Defendant will have 21 or 28 days to respond depending on whether he/she was served via certified mail or personal service. 

Discovery is the process of obtaining information and documentation as it relates to a party’s assets and debts. Throughout the discovery process a party may serve the other party with: 

1. Interrogatories: Which are a set of questions that a party must answer under oath as it relates to his/her finances;

2. Demand for Production of Documents: Whereby a party must produce documents as it relates to his/her assets and debts;

3. Request for Admission: Whereby a party must admit or deny allegations as it relates to his/her finances and/or personal affairs; and

4. Subpoena: Whereby a party, third party, or organization is served with a request to produce information and documentation and/or appear for a deposition and answer questions under oath as it relates to a party’s finances and/or personal affairs.

If mediation is successful, the parties will incorporate the terms of their agreement into the Judgment of Divorce, being the final piece of documentation that is filed with the Court. 

Once the Summons and Complaint have been filed with the Court you must put the other party on notice of the divorce proceedings and serve the opposing party, known as the Defendant, with the Summons and Complaint. Service can be effectuated by certified mail or personal service.

Once the initial pleadings have been filed, the Court will set a Status/Settlement Conference, whereby the parties, or through their counsel, will appear before the Judge and inform the Judge of the status of their case. The Court will want to know where the parties stand on all the disputed issues. The Court will then issue what is called a scheduling order, which provides the parties with a date certain for when the case must be settled and when the parties must return to Court.

After the disclosure of assets and debts has been exchanged, the parties will attend mediation. Mediation is a court-ordered intervention process whereby a neutral third party attempts to settle all aspects of your case.

Once the Judgment of Divorce (“Judgment”) is drafted, approved, and signed by both parties, the parties must appear before the Judge to have the Judgment entered. The Judge will question the parties under oath as it relates to their understanding and agreement with the terms of the Judgment. Once the Judge signs the Judgment and it is entered with the Court, the parties are effectively divorced.