Is It Better To Be the One Who Files for Divorce?
Hi, I’m Tulsa Divorce Attorney Palmer Johnson. Welcome to my video series where I discuss frequently asked questions I get from my family law clients. And this one comes up a lot, so I really want to address this one because I think you could get different answers. But the question is, isn’t it better to be the one who files for divorce? And my answer is always, not really, I don’t think it matters.
I think that kind of surprises people, the idea being that whoever files first is the master of the lawsuit and that they somehow obtain an advantage in the proceedings by being the party that files. And I just thought about this and thought about this, and other than the widely held perception that the person who files may somehow have some advantage in the proceedings, I really can’t think of a real valid reason why I think that the other party is in a better position simply because they are the petitioner, is what we call it in a family law case, or the plaintiff would be the term that most people are more familiar with, in their divorce matter.
Understanding the Legal Dynamics of Filing for Divorce
I really, typically when we file the response of pleading to a petition, if my client was not the party that filed, we also file a counterclaim, which is essentially a divorce action the same direction, asking the court for very similar relief to what the other party received. And there’s just no case law, there’s no judicial rules that place the person who files for divorce in a better position than the person who is the respondent or the defendant in the divorce action.
And so I just cannot for any reason other than just the simple perception that some people believe that there’s some advantage to that, but I really think there’s no legal basis for that. If you are contemplating divorce or you and your spouse have discussed it and you feel like it’s a race to the courthouse, I just don’t necessarily think that that in and of itself is a huge factor or something that you should be worried about. It’s certainly something that if the other side files before you file, that you don’t need to spend any time worrying about. It should not dictate the outcome of your divorce and you should not be in a different position, honestly, whatsoever at the end of the case, regardless of whether you’re the petitioner or the respondent.
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Do I think it matters? I don’t. If you are looking for a divorce attorney in northeastern Oklahoma and would like to schedule a low-cost consultation, you can contact me at 918-770-7117 or visit moms.law.