In the United States, a couple can be legally married in any state, and any married couple can also arrange a legal divorce in any state. To begin the divorce process, one of the married individuals must file for divorce in the county courthouse in which he or she resides. By doing so, a permanent legal record is created.
What is a Permanent Divorce Record?
A divorce record is a legal document that legally dissolves a marriage. It is a court document, usually drawn up by attorneys, that states the reason for the divorce and all the settlement agreements. Through this document, a married couple can have full legal protection of each individual’s interests. All assets acquired during the marriage are split, and spousal support payments are calculated, as well as child support payments if there are minor children resulting from the marriage. An Address Search may help here.
Divorce processes differ from state to state. Most of them, however, begin similarly with a petitioner – the filer – seeking court-assisted termination of their marriage. He or she then becomes the ‘Petitioner,’ while the other spouse becomes the ‘Respondent.’ The process includes giving the petitioner the opportunity to state not only the justification for the petition but their requests of the State. The respondent usually has a certain time period to respond, and if no response is made, then the court will usually grant the divorce to the petitioner with all demands set forth.
If the case and petition is contested – i.e. the respondent finds fault with the terms or veracity of the petitioner then there is a process of litigation where both parties are allowed to plead their case. If the parties cannot come to a mutual agreement then the court will typically decide the case.
When there has been a final settlement or decision by the court, it will typically be documented in what is call a decree – or announcement – which is filed and signed by the judge in that jurisdiction. This creates a public record of the terms of the divorce. So, if you are trying to find a person this can help.
Is the information in a Divorce Record or decree the same from state to state? The legal divorce record will have the following information: Full legal names of the petitioner and respondent; The date that the divorce was filed; The location where the divorce was filed; The date the divorce became final.
Other information that may be included: Credit card balance information from each individual; Other debt disclosures; Income tax returns; A list of all assets and how they are divided; Payment calculations and arrangements for spousal support and/or child support.
How Can Divorce Records Be Useful?
Divorce records can usually be accessed by the public unless the decree has been sealed by court order.
Legal divorce records can be useful in a number of ways. Here are just a few:
Verify that an individual is legally divorced
Verify whether an individual was previously married
Useful for helping to locate an individual
Uncover previous spousal abuse
Discover history of illegal acts
Thanks to our current digital age, public records, such as a divorce records, can be easily searched and accessed with the help of a people finder company. Or you can do the research yourself for much less money.