What are the first steps taken in court for a divorce or a legal separation?
The first step when trying to attempt a divorce or a legal separation is filing a Summons and Petition. A Summons is a legal document that will notify the other individual involved, and it will tell them about their responsibility to respond back to the document. Then, the Petition is designed to asserting your claims against the other party in the divorce, and outlines what you will be requesting from the court. Other documents will then be issued, and these include an “Order to Show Cause” and an Affidavit if Support. The Order to Show Cause (sometimes called a “Rule Nisi”) provides notice of a hearing to determine the issues involved. Then, the Affidavit is signed by the spouse who has filed for the action, and it may ask the court to grant various types of temporary relief. These documents are then given to the other party involved, and served as divorce or legal separation papers. Then, the rest of the procedure (such as waiting periods, percentage of salary for child support, etc
