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What to do After you Complete the Forms
After you and your spouse have signed the “Joint Petition for Simplified
Dissolution of Marriage”, “Simplified Procedure Joint Affidavit Regarding
Separation of the Parties, Division of Property”, “Wavier of Bifurcated
Hearing”, “Simplified Procedure Agreement as to Assets and Debts” and
“Appearance” in front of a Notary Public, bring them back to the
courthouse along with the “Simplified Procedure Judgment of Dissolution
of Marriage,” the “Certificate of Dissolution of Marriage,” and a
copy of your written agreement dividing marital assets, debts and liabilities. File all these documents with the Circuit Clerk except the “Simplified
Procedure Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage.”
The Circuit Clerk will time-stamp each form and return one set of
copies to you and the other set return to your spouse.
The final step in the dissolution of marriage requires both you and your spouse to appear together before a judge, who
will read your Petition and Affidavit, hear your testimony, and decide whether to grant the dissolution. Until this is
done, you and your spouse are not divorced and cannot remarry.
To schedule the court date, ask a Circuit Clerk to put your case on the Family Motion Book of the judge hearing Joint
Simplified Dissolution Petitions. You must sign up for a date that is convenient for both you and your spouse. In
addition, THIS DATE MUST BE AT LEAST THIRTY (30) DAYS AFTER THE DATE ON WHICH YOUR PETITION WAS FILED.
If your spouse is not present when you choose the date, you must notify him or her by using forms 18-E(1) ("Notice
of Motion") and 18-E(2) ("Motion") which are available from the Circuit Clerk. Fill out both forms and send one
set of copies to your spouse by either certified or regular mail at least four days before the court date that you
selected. You must bring the original forms with you on your court date and present them to the judge as proof that
notice was sent to your spouse. The Circuit Clerk will not send a reminder to either of you.
You both must show up on the scheduled court date! The case will be heard beginning at 9:00 A.M. Make sure your
case is listed on the bulletin board outside the courtroom and then check in with the judge's clerk before court
starts. Be patient, courteous and refer to the judge as "your honor" or as "judge". |
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