What is a Joint Petition For Divorce?
I often have clients come in wanting to save costs and ask about the cheapest and quickest way to get a divorce. My suggestion, if the couple can agree, would be to file a Joint Petition for Divorce. A joint petition for divorce is simply an uncontested divorce where a married couple file one divorce petition together to obtain a divorce. In a joint petition for divorce, the married couple agrees to settle all of the issues involved in their divorce, and they agree to do this amicably.
They will need to agree on all facets of the divorce, such as the division of assets, the division of debts, the division of property, as well as child custody, child visitation, child support, and alimony. A joint petition is the simplest and the least expensive way to file for divorce because both parties are in agreement as to all the terms, thus there is usually no court hearing necessary. For that reason, a joint petition for divorce can be finalized in as little as two weeks.
In order to qualify for a joint petition for divorce, there are three things that must occur.
- Either one of the spouses must reside in Nevada for at least six weeks prior to the filing of the petition.
- If there are children involved, the children must have resided in Nevada for at least six months prior to the filing of the petition.
- Again, both parties must agree to all of the divorce terms.
If all three criteria are met, then you qualify to file a joint petition. The most important thing to remember is that you must come to an agreement. If there is even one issue that both of you cannot agree on, then you cannot file a joint petition.
A lot of the times what I tell my clients is that I’m a big proponent of coming to agreements for divorces and for child issues. I believe that if the couple can come to an agreement, it is better for everyone involved. They are more in control of their decisions and their life than to leaving it up to a judge to make that decision for them.
However, when a client comes to me in hopes of filing a joint petition for divorce, my response is always to make sure that they are in agreement with everything before filing. The reason being, if we begin to do a joint petition and we do all the paperwork and file it with the court, and then we come to a realization that no, in fact, the couple is not in agreement on everything, then it’s going to actually cost double. Now we’ve started one process and we have to end that process to begin a completely new process and a divorce procedure that is totally different than a joint petition.
So my advice is always; be sure that you’re both in agreement with everything before you decide to start filing for a joint petition.
If you are interested in speaking further about if a joint petition for divorce is right for you, contact our office to set up a meeting with our experienced family law attorneys. Our office can be reached at (702) 998-1188, info@ljlawlv.com, or by scheduling a consultation online.
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