How Do I Initiate a Divorce?
Hi, I’m Tulsa divorce attorney Keith Flinn. First, I would consult with a few attorneys to have a feel for them and make a decision about whoever you feel like you have the best connection with and can rely on to achieve what you need out of the divorce, whether it be filed or not. I really think everyone should have a lawyer involved in a divorce. It is very complicated legally and evidentiary and so you’re just best suited to have an attorney by your side throughout the process.
The best way to start a divorce is to acquire as much documentation about the finances and property as possible without notifying the other party that there’s going to be a divorce potentially because oftentimes you can acquire more information, particularly if you’re locked out of certain things while you’re still in a position of marriage with the person. Also, to organize materials and to acquire potential evidence that would support your position for a custody plan.
What Comes Next in the Divorce process?
Now, that’s something that you’ll really want to consult a lawyer with about what exactly are the places to look for that kind of evidence in order to assert your position related to a particular custody plan. While this is all being done, it’s probably time to draft a petition and an application for a temporary order. The application for a temporary order is just going to tell the judge that there is going to be a need for an order to govern the parties during the pendency of the divorce.
Obviously, everybody wants the divorce process to go quickly, but sometimes based on a number of factors, divorces can take quite a long time to finally achieve. So, after these documents are filed, and that’s the petition for divorce and the application for temporary orders, hopefully with the advice and consent of a lawyer, an automatic temporary injunction goes into place. Now, this could be the subject of a whole other video, but in short, one of the main features of this automatic temporary injunction is preventing parties from wasting assets in the marital estate.
Ready to Start your Divorce process?
Next, the parties will need to serve the court documents. Whoever filed the divorce will need to, usually through a process server, have the petition and the temporary order served with summons to court on the other party, and this will initiate the divorce. Thanks for watching, I’m Tulsa family law attorney Keith Flinn. Contact me at 918-770-7117 for a low-cost consultation to discuss your specific situation and next steps.