Beginning The Process
In Nebraska, marriages are usually dissolved in the District Courts although a County Court is an available option. The process is started by the preparation and filing of a “Complaint for Dissolution of Marriage”. Your attorney will prepare the complaint. You will need to review that document, and when the information in the document is accurate, you will sign it and verify that the information contained in the Complaint is true. The person filing the Complaint is called the Plaintiff. The other party is called the Defendant.
Nebraska is what is called a ‘no fault’ divorce state. That phrase means that you only have to demonstrate to the court that there are “irreconcilable differences and that all attempts at reconciliation have failed”, to obtain a divorce. Your spouse does not have to agree or want to “give you” a divorce.
The Complaint is filed with the clerk of the district court. The Complaint must then be served according to Nebraska Statute. This requires us to personally serve the Defendant or the Defendant may sign a Voluntary Appearance. A Voluntary Appearance is a one page document that acknowledges receipt of the Complaint but does not waive any other right except the right to have the Complaint personally served. A third method is to serve someone by publishing it in the newspaper. That is only permitted under certain specific circumstances, such as when there is no information on the whereabouts of the individual to be served.
Once the Complaint is filed and it has been served on the Defendant, there is a 60 day waiting period before a final hearing can be held. This does not mean that it will only take 60 days to finalize a divorce. If there are contested issues, it is unlikely that a divorce will be completed in such a time frame. The time that it takes for a divorce depends on the issues that arise, as well as the court’s calendar. A realistic time frame for concluding the divorce should be discussed with your attorney during the initial office conference, so that reasonable expectations can be established. These expectations may change as the proceedings develop and should be discussed periodically throughout the process.
After the Complaint has been filed, we will schedule a temporary hearing to request certain kinds of temporary ‘relief’ from the court about certain disputed matters. Temporary in this instance means ‘until the court makes a final decision’. As indicated, the time frame that a divorce may take will depend on a number of factors. It has been our experience that successful temporary hearings can be critical to a successful resolution of the divorce. The issues that the Court will hear and decide on a temporary basis may include temporary custody, parenting time, attorney fees, child support, alimony, and restraining orders to prohibit harassment or the selling or transferring of property. The Court will also consider excluding your spouse from the marital residence. Temporary issues in certain judicial district are subject to local rules of court, and proceed under specific guidelines.
The court won’t temporarily divide property and debts. Many times clients would like to have certain property turned over to them immediately after the filing or require the other to pay certain expenses prior to the final hearing. With some exceptions, this is not something that the court will order at the temporary hearing. However, we can negotiate some issues.
Nebraska is what is called a ‘no fault’ divorce state. That phrase means that you only have to demonstrate to the court that there are “irreconcilable differences and that all attempts at reconciliation have failed”, to obtain a divorce. Your spouse does not have to agree or want to “give you” a divorce.
The Complaint is filed with the clerk of the district court. The Complaint must then be served according to Nebraska Statute. This requires us to personally serve the Defendant or the Defendant may sign a Voluntary Appearance. A Voluntary Appearance is a one page document that acknowledges receipt of the Complaint but does not waive any other right except the right to have the Complaint personally served. A third method is to serve someone by publishing it in the newspaper. That is only permitted under certain specific circumstances, such as when there is no information on the whereabouts of the individual to be served.
Once the Complaint is filed and it has been served on the Defendant, there is a 60 day waiting period before a final hearing can be held. This does not mean that it will only take 60 days to finalize a divorce. If there are contested issues, it is unlikely that a divorce will be completed in such a time frame. The time that it takes for a divorce depends on the issues that arise, as well as the court’s calendar. A realistic time frame for concluding the divorce should be discussed with your attorney during the initial office conference, so that reasonable expectations can be established. These expectations may change as the proceedings develop and should be discussed periodically throughout the process.
After the Complaint has been filed, we will schedule a temporary hearing to request certain kinds of temporary ‘relief’ from the court about certain disputed matters. Temporary in this instance means ‘until the court makes a final decision’. As indicated, the time frame that a divorce may take will depend on a number of factors. It has been our experience that successful temporary hearings can be critical to a successful resolution of the divorce. The issues that the Court will hear and decide on a temporary basis may include temporary custody, parenting time, attorney fees, child support, alimony, and restraining orders to prohibit harassment or the selling or transferring of property. The Court will also consider excluding your spouse from the marital residence. Temporary issues in certain judicial district are subject to local rules of court, and proceed under specific guidelines.
The court won’t temporarily divide property and debts. Many times clients would like to have certain property turned over to them immediately after the filing or require the other to pay certain expenses prior to the final hearing. With some exceptions, this is not something that the court will order at the temporary hearing. However, we can negotiate some issues.
