What Does A Divorce Packet Contain?

The Divorce Packet

Divorce Mediation and Equitable Distribution

Only a Judge of the Supreme Court can grant a divorce — called a Judgment of Divorce. In order to do that the Court does h– called Affidavits — are a number of other documents. Some of these you each sign. Some of them I sign as the attorney submitted the paperwork to the Court. Altogether, those have to have certain sworn statements of you and your spouse. Along with those statements, the documents are called the Divorce Packet.

Affidavits Are the Most Important Parts of the Divorce Packet

The most important parts of the Divorce Packet are the Affidavits that you each sign. If you have children, then the Child Support Worksheet, an Affidavit, is required. The Child Support Worksheet shows how your income in computed as a basis for the calculation of the child support based on the Child Support Standards Act. In mediation you can modify that child support payment, but you have to show the child support as it is calculated according to the Child Support Standards Act. The point is to make sure that you each understand your child support obligations according to the official formula.

The Affidavits Also Include Personal Information

The Affidavits also include personal information such as your social security number, address, date and place of birth, date and place of marriage. They state that the terms of the divorce are set forth in the agreement you signed, just as if they were set out fully in the Judgment of Divorce. You also acknowledge that you have received certain documents about the divorce, and certain notifications. The Notifications are about health insurance, rights to maintenance, and so forth.

The Signing and Submission of the Divorce Packet

Once you have signed the Agreement that the two of you have negotiated, as well as the Divorce Packet, I then put it all together and submit it to the Court. The Clerks’s Office then reviews that papers to make sure they are correct. If they have any questions or changes they will write to me. That is very rare. They do not review the deal itself.

The Judge Signs the Judgment of Divorce

We then just have to wait for the Judge to sign the Judgment. I will receive notification that the Judgment has been signed by the Judge and entered into the County Records in the County Clerk’s Office. I will then order certified copies of the Judgment and, once I receive them, mail a copy of each of you. That Certified Copy of the Judgment is what you will need when you need to prove that you are divorced. (For example: to obtain new health insurance.)