If you are getting a divorce in Grundy County, the legal assistance can be simple and affordable.
Stages for Divorce in Grundy County
- Stage 1: The client retains me, then completes intake forms that help me draft the necessary documents.
- Stage 2: The client and the spouse review the documents I draft, then sign them.
- Stage 3: The divorce in finalized at a “prove up” in court. My client must be there, but the spouse is not required to come.
Instructions for documents necessary in Grundy County
Below are each of the documents clients and spouses are required to sign, with instructions.
Note this the following:
- Complete everything: The Petitioner (my client) and the Respondent (the spouse) must make sure to sign in the right places and fill out ALL the other information. Further, if a document has to be notarized, the person whose signature is to be notarized cannot sign the document until in the presence of the notary.
- Delivery of documents: The documents will be delivered to the parties by email. However, I must receive two copies of each document with original signatures. The parties should send the document to me, via some method with delivery confirmation and tracking (Fedex or UPS preferably). Send to the following address: Wolkowitz Law Office, c/o Spence & Assoc, 500 Lake, Maywood, IL 60153. Please email me your tracking number.
- Parties signing different copies of same document: Ideally the Petitioner and Respondent should sign the same documents. However, where that is not possible, the Petitioner can sign two copies the documents, and the Respondent can two copies of the same documents – then both must send what hey have signed back to me. Whatever is signed, I must get TWO copies with original signatures.
The Documents:
- Petition for dissolution: This is the document that opens the case. The Petitioner (my client) signs it, but the Respondent (spouse) does not.
- Respondent’s Appearance: The Respondent must get his/her signature notarized, and fill out all the other information, including the email address. The Petitioner does not sign it.
- 2 Year Waiver and Military Affidavit: This affidavit states that the Respondent is not active duty military, and that both parties agree to shorten a required waiting period. Before anyone signs, one party should fill in a date where the blank is for when the parties began living separate and apart – refer to the Petition for Dissolution to get the date off there. The The Respondent must get his/her signature notarized.
- Certificate of Readiness: This tells the judge the divorce is ready to be finalized. The Respondent must sign in two places: once in the middle-right of the page, and once on the bottom-right of the page. Further, both parties must be sure to fill in all the required information.
- Marital Settlement Agreement: Both the Petitioner and Respondent must have their signatures notarized, and fill out the other information. Further, each party must initial the bottom of every page, except the first page.
Wrapping it up
Clients that have questions about completing the documents can contact me. Once I receive everything, I will schedule a prove up date, and soon the divorce will be finalized.