Do It Yourself Divorce in Arkansas

A Do It Yourself Divorce in Arkansas Guide

If you’re looking to file for divorce in the state of Arkansas, there are a number of things you will need to know about the process.

A Divorce Petition

A do it yourself divorce in AR will start with a ‘divorce petition’; that is a document usually obtained in any legal aid department, and will be filled out by the spouse seeking divorce. From that point, the spouse would be termed as the ‘Petitioner.’

Once the petition has been filled out, a copy is sent to the county court, and a copy is sent to the other spouse known as the Respondent in the matter.

What Is Included in a Divorce Petition?

Any do it yourself divorce in Arkansas would include the husband’s name, the wife’s name, and the child(ren) names, if any. In addition, any separate properties outside of the particular household of the marriage in question will also be listed as value that will be distributed in a way that is fair between both parties. Child custody, support, and alimony are also determined in the petition.

Steps Toward Serving the Petition

A Petitioner must simply serve the “divorce papers” – the actual petition itself – to the Respondent. This is the case with every do it yourself divorce in AR. Once the petition is in the hands of the Respondent, he or she can either sign it or not sign. If he or she chooses to not sign it, the Petitioner must file a default with the court on the petition. If he or she, however, does sign it, the process moves forward without any decisions made at this point. The whole process is termed as the “service of process.” Additionally, it’s also possible that a Respondent may be difficult to locate. In that case, a Petitioner can hire a professional server to appropriately deliver the divorce papers in a timely manner.

Once the Petition Is Served….

Once the papers have been signed, there’s a waiting period in the state of Arkansas that’s designed to prepare for such things as automatic restraining orders on both parties, prohibitions to sell or borrow against the property during the marriage, obtain new insurance, sell old insurance, and take any children out of state.

A Respondent may also write a “response” to the petition and file it with the county court as an agreement or disagreement on the petition. An agreement finalizes the whole process and may make the whole petition much a lot quicker in court.

However, if a Respondent or Defendant writes a “response” to disagree with the petition….

What Happens When One Spouse Doesn’t Agree With the Terms of the Divorce?

For any do it yourself divorce in Arkansas, there may or may not be any disagreements – but in the event that there is a disagreement, it’s brought up in a court hearing scheduled during the waiting period. The disagreement can be anything on the petition – child support, child custody, alimony. The Respondent may even disagree with the entire divorce and want to maintain the marriage.

Whatever the case, it’s important to know that this particular hearing will not end in a final decision, not until the waiting period of the petition is over. Once the waiting period has passed, the final judgment of divorce may be issued by the court if there is in fact preponderance of evidence to that fact. This is how the law is established for any do it yourself divorce in AR.