Kansas Divorce Procedures

In this state, the person, who files the Petition, is not called as Plaintiff but as Petitioner. Similarly, the person, who served the Petition, is not known as Defendant but as Respondent.

Kansas Divorce Procedure regarding Petition

The first step in the divorce is that the Petitioner files a Petition with the court clerk. This court clerk usually accepts a Petition if it is sent through a fax machine. The caption of this document should read “In the Matter of the Marriage of (petitioner’s name) and (defendant’s name).”

The Petition should include the following information.

• The date and location of the marriage
• Grounds of divorce as stated by the Petitioner
• Whether a divorce or annulment or separate maintenance is being sought
• If the Petitioner desires a divorce, then, the Petition must state that the petitioner has resided in this state for minimum 60 days before the petition was filed
• Name, date of birth, present postal address of any child(ren)( if applicable) and the postal address where this child(ren) has resided for the previous 5 years
• The names and postal addresses of the individuals with whom the child(ren) has resided for the previous 5 years
• Information whether the Petitioner was involved in any other lawsuit regarding the custody of his or her child(ren) in any state in the United States
• If the Petitioner has any information about the custody litigation of the child(ren) that is pending in any court in the United States, then the Petitioner must divulge this information
• If the Petitioner has relevant data pertaining to any person, who is not a party in the divorce action and claims visitation rights of the child(ren) or custody of the children or has physical custody of the child(ren), then the Petitioner must reveal this data

Fees related to Kansas Divorce Procedure

When the Petition is filed with the court clerk, it is expected that the Petitioner should pay the docket fee. In July 2005, this filing fee was 111 USD. In case, it is not possible to disburse the filing fee, then, the Petition has the option of filing the affidavit of poverty.

Although the affidavit of poverty is filed and this has resulted in non-payment of the filing fee, the Petitioner must bear in mind that the court might demand this amount of money when the divorce is granted. The court might order any party to pay the filing fee or order each divorcing partner to disburse a percentage of the fee.

Duration of Kansas Divorce Procedure

After the Petition is filed, there is a waiting period of 60 days in this state, except when there is an emergency. The intention of scheduling this waiting period is that the divorcing partners should get an opportunity to discuss the details of any agreements.

The factors that decide the duration of the divorce procedure are as follows.

• Completion of statutory waiting period
• Existence of any emergency
• The failure or success of the divorcing partners in resolving the issues of the divorce
• The court calendar

Divorce Papers