What Is a Petition for Divorce?

A petition for divorce, sometimes known as a dissolution petition or a petition for dissolution of
marriage, is the initial form submitted to a court to begin the divorce process. It is the first
official step to pursuing a divorce. In some jurisdictions, it is also known as a complaint. This
petition will be filled out by one spouse and served to the other spouse. The individual filing the
divorce is known as the petitioner or complainant. The person served is known as the respondent
or defendant. Depending on the number of assets, amount of debt, the presence of minor
children, whether both spouses want the divorce, and whether the spouses are willing to settle,
the divorce process can take quite a bit of time. Every state has a certain minimum amount of
time that a divorce will take, depending on whether there are minors involved.

The petition for divorce, colloquially known as divorce papers, must include information about
each spouse as well as minor any children they have together, when and where the two parties
were married, an acknowledgement that the petitioner is a resident of the county where the
divorce was filed and how long they’ve lived in the county, the reason for the divorce (including
whether it is a no-fault divorce), and how the petitioner would like to split up the assets and
debts, who will control the marital home and any vehicles, division of other property (which may
depend on whether the state is a community property or separate property state and when the
property was initially received, child custody and / or visitation of any minor (also known as
parenting time), and other issues that often come up as a result of the divorce. The contact
information for each party should also be listed. This will be needed in order to serve the spouse.
You may or may not need to provide the phone number of the spouse being served.

After the petition for divorce is finalized, both spouses are required to abide by the order of the
court in regards to the division of assets and debts, custody and visitation of any minors, and
other agreed upon stipulations or court orders signed off on by the judge.