Utah Divorce Procedures

When any person decided to have a divorce, this person approaches and hires a lawyer. In the initial consultation, the divorce lawyer asks questions to the person, some of which are as follows.

• Why are you opting for a divorce?
• What is the reason of the divorce? Is any partner at fault?
• What is the long term and short term aim for the divorce?

Further, the lawyer needs the following sort of information.

• Personal information
• Marital information
• Financial concerns
• Legal documents

Role of lawyer in initial Utah Divorce Procedure

Once the initial interview is complete, the lawyer takes up the task of preparing the essential paperwork and most importantly, a divorce petition. The role of the lawyer is to draft a divorce petition, file it in the divorce court and serve it to the Respondent.

The service of the petition may require some weeks. In cases, wherein the Respondent has moved out of the state or avoids the service, the service of the petition may take longer. When the Respondent cannot be located, then, the divorce lawyer publishes a notice in the local newspaper for some months. If the Respondent does not respond to the service by publication, the divorce court reserves the right to issue a default divorce.

If the Respondent desires to file an Answer to the Petition, then, the divorce lawyer of the Respondent drafts a Response. In this document, the allegations made in the divorce petition are either denied or accepted. Any applicable affirmative defenses are raised. Sometimes a counterclaim is filed by the lawyer.

Temporary Orders in Utah Divorce Procedure

It is quite possible that the divorce court issues a sequence of temporary orders that are in force only till the divorce procedure is pending. After the divorce petition is finalized, the temporary orders are dissolved. Some of the topics these orders are related to are as follows.

• Preservation of marital property
• Covering the needs of the children
• Helping a partner who does not have an income source
• Confirming that the household bills are paid
• Forcing one of the partners to pay specific bills
• Prohibiting one of the partners from contacting the other

The process called Discovery

The Discovery process is said to be the heart of the divorce procedure. The divorcing partners are supposed to divulge information to each other regarding extramarital affairs, child custody, income, assets and other issues pertaining to the divorce. This is not a contested process and the divorcing partner has to adhere to the rules of procedure for exchanging the needed data. If it is found that one of the partners is reluctant to reveal the information, then the lawyer can approach the court and procure an order that coerces the spouse to provide the information.

The Trial

When the divorcing partners fail to develop a divorce settlement, the court sets up a date for a trial. During any trial, the divorcing parties have the freedom to explain their sides of the story, present witnesses to support the facts and cross examine the witnesses of the opposite side. Generally, the trial does not take place before a jury. The Judge takes the final decision.

Divorce Papers