The law varies from state-to-state and you should check with a qualified divorce lawyer in your community for advice on the requisites of a divorce petition.
With that thought in mind, below are common elements that are required in many divorce or “dissolution of marriage” petitions which may be filed in court throughout the United States:
- The name and address of the party who is petitioning for a divorce;
- The name and, if known, the address of the responding party;
- The place and date of the parties’ marriage;
- That either the petitioning party or the responding party have lived in the state where they are filing the pleadings for the amount of time required by law. (The law varies from state-to-state on this issue.)
- The name, and any prior names, age, date-of-birth, and social-security-numbers of every living child of the parties, and/or any dependent child born to one of the parties or adopted by one of the parties to the divorce action. Also, any expected children and their expected dates of birth should be included;
- Whether or not another proceeding for divorce is pending in any other state or other court within the same state;
- The reason that a divorce is desired; including, an allegation of an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage;
- Any requests for temporary or permanent maintenance (otherwise common known as alimony);
- Any requests for child support, child custody, disposition of marital property; attorney’s fees, court costs, and other court disbursements to the filing party;
- Whether a Protective Order or Restraining Order is currently in effect or desired by the filing party.
The above are the basic requirements. However, as I stated above, a qualified Dakota County divorce attorney in your area should be consulted for further information and changes in the law in your state. The list above was only meant to give an idea of the requirements and is not necessarily representative of the requirements in your location.
