From Serious to Entertaining: Blogs on Legal Matters

If you have watched a movie starring a divorcing couple, you have probably heard about divorce documents. Typically, this is the documentation that a couple needs to formalise the dissolution of their marriage. If you wish to divorce your spouse in Australia, read the article below to learn about divorce documents. 

Divorce Application Documents

Once you file for a divorce, the court will send you documents to serve your spouse. Typically, you should serve the divorce application document, the brochure titled 'marriage, families and separation', and the acknowledgment of service. The court does not allow you directly serve the documents to your spouse. Instead, you should use a third party (process server) to deliver the papers. 

Your spouse should sign the acknowledgement of service to consent to the dissolution of the marriage. The process server will then sign an affidavit of service to prove that they delivered the divorce documents. You will also be required to sign the affidavit of proof of signature as confirmation that your spouse's signature is the one that appears in the acknowledgement of service. You will lodge these documents at the court registry and await the court to grant you a divorce. 

Parental Plans

Parental plans are documents that detail how you intend to take care of kids below 18 years. Ideally, the plans describe the following: 

• Where the kids will stay
• The visitation rights of the parent who does not stay with the kids.
• How the parents will make decisions regarding their children's education and health
• How the parents will contribute towards their children's welfare.
• The third parties and family members who will have access to the kids. 

If you wish to formalise the plans, you can file them in court, making them consent orders. In such a way, you can seek legal recourse if your spouse does not fulfil their obligations. If you cannot create a parental plan, the judge will give parental orders that detail the responsibilities of each party. 

Financial Agreements

Financial agreements explain how you will share your property and debts accumulated during the marriage. In some cases, property accrued before your union could be included in the financial agreements. It happens when one spouse managed such property. You will also need to determine the need for spousal maintenance. It is a requirement when there is a significant financial gap between both parties. It could be paid in lump sum or instalments. Similar to parenting plans, financial agreements can be filed with the family court to make them legally binding. 

You will need the expertise of a family lawyer when filing and drafting your divorce documents. When hiring your lawyer, ensure they are reputable, available and reasonably priced.