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How To Prepare For Divorce
7 EASY STEPS FOR A STRESS FREE DIVORCE
Want to know how to prepare for Divorce. Get ready to take some notes. The below 7 steps will help you get there.
Your-Divorce will allow you to have a much smoother divorce process. By being prepared and having the below steps sorted it will make Your Divorce so much easier, stress free and quicker. Don’t we all want that!
Why should you use Your-Divorce? We have covered that in an earlier post “8 Reason why you should use Your-Divorce for your online Divorce” article, feel free to have a read. Let’s get onto How to prepare for Divorce, with these handy tips.
THE 7 STEPS ON HOW TO PREPARE FOR DIVORCE
1. Diarise The Date
To be eligible to apply for a divorce you must be separated for at least 12 months from your former spouse.
During this period of separation, it may be the case that you are still living under the one roof for at least part of that time.
You should keep a diary of important dates and notes.
This could include the first separation date or if you got back together for short periods
If and when you notified government authorities such as Centrelink.
When you may have told friends/family of the separation.
Getting these dates noted can help us organise a smooth start and provide our best advice for you.
2. Locate Your Marriage Certificate
Save some time and have a read of “How To Obtain Marriage Certificate Blog”
When you lodge an Application for Divorce the court will require a copy of your marriage certificate.
This can be the formal document from the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages
Alternatively, it could be the ceremonial copy provided at the wedding by the wedding celebrant.
If you have a good photograph of the document, then it can be used.
If the marriage certificate is lost then you can go online and order a copy from the Registry of Births Deaths and Marriages for the State where the marriage occurred. If you were married overseas most countries or regions have records you can access online.
3. Collect & Upload (To A Safe Place) Other Critical Documents
You should upload a copy of your photographic ID, remembering to copy both sides if it is your driver’s licence.
A passport is also handy if you have one.
If you were born overseas and have become an Australian citizen upload a copy of your Citizenship Certificate or Australian passport if you have one.
Other important documents include any healthcare or concession cards held by you – these will reduce the filing fee charged by the court.
We will also require a copy of any other court order involving family law matters.
This could include children’s or property orders or there could be an order to do with a protection or domestic violence matter.
Finally, if you are living in Australia and are not a citizen but you hold a Medicare card more than 12 months old it is useful to upload a copy of that or any Visa information you have that demonstrates your right to stay in Australia.
A VEVO search can be helpful with that.
4. Put aside some Funds
To obtain a divorce unfortunately there are costs which will be incurred.
The compulsory government court filing fee is currently $990 unless you hold a healthcare or other concession card, then it reduces to $330.
If you need to order your marriage certificate it will cost around $70.
Our service at YourDivorce assists in undertaking the divorce for you and our professional legal fee is $770 for the service.
Usually, the only other cost incurred would be in the event that a process server is required to serve the Divorce Application to your former spouse and for this the budget is around $250 if needed.
Not all of these costs need to be paid up front and instalment arrangements are usually possible.
5. Gather Information As To The Location Of Your Former Spouse
A divorce application must be brought to the attention of your former spouse.
That is, unless it is a Joint Application filed by both of you which requires cooperation between the two of you.
About 4 in 5 divorce applications are brought by the one party only.
For an Individual Application, service upon a former spouse is usually by post or in person through a third party process server.
However, information such as a telephone number or email address for your former spouse may assist in arranging service.
Details as to their social media (Facebook etc) can be helpful in arranging service.
If none of these methods can identify the location of a former spouse, it can be helpful if you have any contact or location details of any other family member who may be served with the application.
Getting this information together early will speed up the Application process.
6. Consider your Confidentiality (Safety)
When making an individual application for a divorce there are sometimes reasons, for example in cases of domestic violence, where your address and potentially details of your children, such as their school, must be kept confidential.
The court process allows for your address and details of your children be kept confidential for good reason and our systems support that need.
When commencing the divorce process, it is important to advise of any confidentiality requirements or safety concerns so we can appropriately deal with in the paperwork.
We will safely and securely act as the ‘middle ground’ if this applies to you.
7. Did we live Under the One Roof after Separation
Due to economic constraints, care of children or other reasons it is not uncommon for parties to live under the one roof following separation.
If this is the case, then you should jot down some key points about how you live separately.
Matters to consider or make not of may include:-
Whether you lived in separate rooms,
Ate meals together or separately,
Arrangements made to manage children,
The ending of the personal or intimate relationship
Matters such as how bills were paid.
If you are able to provide this information when preparing your application, then the necessary documents can be prepared quickly and economically.
If you are submitting an Individual Application, then a third-party such as another adult family member or friend will need to swear a statement known as an affidavit to confirm that you did live separately and apart.
Identifying who that person might be will assist in forming your application as simply and quickly as possible.
Summary:
Getting ready for your divorce requires some preparation and thought.
If you follow the 7 steps we have outlined, then you will have everything at your fingertips to assist in how to prepare for Divorce.
This preparation will save considerable time and expense in bringing your marriage to a conclusion and minimise any stress and inconvenience.
Once these steps covered and underway, then you are ready to Start your Application with Your-Divorce.
You can find our application online at your-divorce.com.au or if you have further questions you can contact us:-
By email to: help@your-divorce.com.au call us on 1300 531 137
Best Wishes from the Team at Your Divorce, we look forward to being in touch.