Arkansas Divorce Procedures

The procedure of Arkansas divorce can be broadly categorized into three steps as follows.

• Filling and filing divorce forms
• Notifying Respondent of filing for divorce
• Remaining present at the divorce hearing

Initiation of Arkansas Divorce Procedure

The Petitioner must confirm that the residency requirements are being fulfilled. This is to be followed by filing the divorce papers. The proper venue for filing the divorce is the Chancery court of Arkansas. The court in the county wherein both reside is selected. However, if the Plaintiff is not staying in this state while the Defendant is, then, the county in which the Defendant lives is chosen.

The Complaint of divorce asks the court to issue a divorce decree and settle topics like property division, visitation, child support and child custody. When the Complaint is filed, a case number is allocated to make the procedure easy. The county clerk’s office is the place wherein all divorce documents are filed and handled.

Fees of Arkansas Divorce Procedure

Till March 2007, 100 USD were essential as a filing fee for an uncontested divorce. Additional fees were compulsory if the divorce was a contested one or the Defendant partner could not be traced. These additional fees were required for publication in local newspapers, service of process fees and witness fees.

Serving the Respondent

Any person, other than the Plaintiff, has to personally serve the copy of the complaint and summons to the Defendant. It is the responsibility of the Defendant to file a response (written answer) in the circuit clerk’s office wherein the filing of the divorce took place. As per the statute, if the Defendant resides within the state, 20 days are provided for this response and if the Defendant resides outside the state, 30 days are provided for the response.

If the Defendant chooses not to file a response in the stipulated period, then such a Defendant is in default. After the period is over, the Defendant loses the right to attend divorce hearings or be notified regarding the progress of the divorce procedure.

Importance of witness

The witness plays the important role of substantiating the grounds of divorce with testimony or evidence. In case the Defendant contests the divorce, the role of the witness is to convince the judge, by testifying some circumstance or fact, that the accusations of the Defendant are genuine.

Parenting Classes

If the divorcing partners have any minor children, then, they must attend minimum 2 hours of parenting classes. These classes must be relevant to the issues faced by the partners. Alternatively, the divorcing partners must take part in mediation during which visitation, custody and parenting topics are discussed.

Litigation or Consent Decree

If it is found that the divorcing partners do not accede with each other regarding the issues of the petition, then, the litigation starts. During this, every party has to get involved in the following.

• Requesting pertinent documents of the other partner
• Requesting hearings in front of the Judge
• Setting of depositions to interrogate the witnesses and parties
• Hiring adroit witnesses
• The final step is to conduct a trial regarding the issues in contest

The other route is to obtain a consent decree. The compulsory requirement for this is that the partners must agree with each other regarding all terms of the divorce. Then, they have to wait for sixty days after the complaint has been filed and then file a consent decree.

Divorce Papers