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How A Divorce Lawyer In Houston Can Help You Obtain A Divorce From An Imprisoned Spouse
Addressing Your Imprisoned Spouse And How A Houston Divorce Attorney Can Help Expedite The Process Of Your Divorce
- A divorce attorney that knows they are the best can expedite the proceedings and move them steadily along
- Make sure you are using a local attorney to ensure you get the 1 on 1 time you need
- Ask yourself, "are they handling my case in a professional manner that meets all my needs and are keeping things confidential with my case
- Just because they say they are top rated doesn't mean that they are. Make sure to do diligent research when finding the best attorney for your case.
When you are planning a divorce from someone who has been locked in prison, you have two different potential routes:
An Uncontested Divorce From An Incarcerated Husband Or Wife
Just as with an uncontested divorce that doesn’t involve the penal system, both parties in an uncontested divorce must be on the same page, figuratively speaking, regarding the terms of the divorce. The first matter of concern is your children that you have together. You must establish an agreement regarding what will happen after the divorce as well as when your former partner is released. Child and medical support, visitation, custody and other issues typically related to relationship breakups and the children who are involved will all be agreed upon. Once that has occurred, the two of you can go forth with the process of an uncontested divorce.
When you retain our offices for an uncontested divorce, it is our job to represent and protect you during the process. Your spouse must be agreeable and not hire an attorney of their own to perform negotiations and other elements of a contested divorce. That being said, it is still perfectly acceptable for your spouse to ask an attorney to review the decree prior to signing to ensure that they are clear on the agreement.
After you have opted to retain our offices, we will begin the paperwork to help you with your divorce. First, we will file the actual petition at the courthouse. The next step is to send some papers to your soon to be former spouse. The first is the copy of the petition. The second is another document, “Waiver of Service,” that will draft and provide for their perusal. Your spouse must sign this document in order for the rest of the process to go through. It contains several bits of information, including an agreement to not be served with the formal notice of divorce. Legally, these waivers generally require a notary public to witness the signature. However, as of September 1, 2015, that is not the case if the person signing is incarcerated.
After the waiver has been signed and returned to our offices, we will then draft an agreed divorce decree that lays out all of the terms that the two of you had agreed on. Once you have approved it, send it to your spouse so that he or she can sign it as well.
With both signatures on the document, our staff will file it along with the various other supporting documentation that is required to the courthouse. Your court appearance will be scheduled for a date at least 60 days out from your original divorce petition filing. The court hearing will take place in the early part of the day. During it, the judge will ask various questions after you have been sworn to tell the truth. Once you have honestly answered the queries, the divorce will be granted.
Contested Divorce When Your Spouse Is Incarcerated
You might be wondering how it is possible to get a divorce if the other party won’t agree to the terms. However, this is more common than you might think, whether or not one of the spouses is behind bars. Though the process is different, we can still help. The first steps we will take on your behalf are to file the petition for divorce once we have drafted the document.
The citation must be personally served to your spouse once we have filed the petition. If this is not a possibility, either because of location, relationship or other hardships, you can ask us to file a motion with the court for an alternative service provider. Depending on the situation, you might need to comply with several steps in order to proceed.
Your spouse has a limited amount of time to respond to the petition once it has been served. The Monday following a 20-day lapse is the final date that he or she has to answer. When your spouse responds, we can begin taking the appropriate steps to move forward. This will involve coordinating a mediation or sending an alternate proposal. You can obtain a default divorce after 60 days if your spouse doesn’t respond.
Source:https://www.johnkgrubb.com/obtain-a-divorce-from-an-imprisoned-spouse/
