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Most states and counties have residency requirements that establish where you can file for divorce. You must file for divorce in the appropriate county or your case may be dismissed. You can locate state-specific residency requirements here: http://family.findlaw.com/divorce/divorce-residency-faq-s.html. States have different names for the document used to initiate divorce including: summons; petition for divorce; or complaint for divorce. This document should have been included in the divorce forms that you previously gathered. Generally, these documents will require the following information: Contact information for both spouses. Date and place of marriage. Information specifying residency and jurisdiction. Information regarding children, if any, including parentage, names, birth dates, and current custody arrangement. Information specifying assets and debt. Information specifying the grounds for divorce. Typically, you will file your divorce petition in the county court where you reside so long as you meet the residency requirements discussed above. You should follow the rules for your specific court or contact the court clerk and ask what you need to do in order to properly file your divorce action. Generally courts require the following: Bring at least one original and two copies to the court clerk. Submit the documents to the court clerk for filing. The clerk will stamp all of the documents as filed, return the copies to you and keep the original. Pay a filing fee. Most courts will require that you pay a filing fee to commence an action. You should bring the fee in the appropriate form to the court at the time of filing. You may also be able to file for a waiver of the fee. After you file the divorce petition, you must legally provide a copy to your spouse in a manner set forth by state law. It is imperative that you properly serve your spouse or your divorce petition may be deemed invalid. Generally, methods for service of process include: Personal service, which means that a person over the age of 18 personally hands the document to your spouse and fills out an affidavit describing the service. Depending on the state, process servers can include friends, family members, professional process servers, or law enforcement personnel. Service by mail. Many jurisdictions allow you to serve parties to a lawsuit or divorce by mail. Typically, you would send the document by U.S. mail, "return receipt requested," so that you can demonstrate for the court that the document was delivered to the residence of your spouse. If you are unable to locate your spouse, some jurisdictions will allow you to serve by publication. This may mean that you are required to publish a notice in a newspaper where you believe your spouse resides. Most likely, you will be required to publish the notice over a course of weeks or months. After serving the petition, most courts require that you file a document demonstrating proof that your spouse was properly served. It is very important that you submit this document because it is often used to start the time period for when your spouse has to file a response. Typically, you should be able to locate the proof of service form in the same location that you located the divorce forms.
Determine where you can file for divorce. Fill out the appropriate legal document to commence divorce proceedings. File the document with the appropriate state court. Serve the divorce petition on your spouse. File proof of service.