Portland Divorce Process

Some divorces are quite easy and involve minimal help from legal professionals.  However, there are many divorces that are not simple and demand representation from an experienced Portland divorce lawyer.  If you are someone who is going through or about to go through the divorce process, here is some information about the process that you may find useful:

• The divorce begins when one of the spouses initiates the process by contacting a lawyer to file a complaint that states the reasons that the divorce is needed.  These reasons are known as the “grounds for divorce”.
• Once the complaint completed, it is filed with the Oregon courts, and the spouse who did not file the complaint is served with a summons.
• Once the spouse has received the summons, he or she must respond within the time limit that is specified in the summons.  If the spouse does not respond to the summons within a given amount of time, it is assumed that the divorce is uncontested.  The petitioner will then be granted relief/divorce.
• The spouses will typically meet with their lawyers after the summons has been filed.  During the meeting, involved parties will discuss the terms of their divorce, go over their financial documents and also start talking about important issues like child custody, visitation, child support, spousal support and distribution of joint assets.
• If the spouses are able to reach a mutual settlement, they can submit their settlement to the state family law court for review.  A judge will decide if the settlement is grant or not granted.
• If spouses cannot reach a mutual settlement on one or more issues, the divorce may have to progress to a trial and a judge will decide upon the terms of the divorce and related issues.
• Spouses who feel that the judge made a poor ruling will have a chance to appeal the ruling to a higher court.
• All judgments may be subject to modification at a later time should one or both of the spouses have a significant change in circumstances.

Hiring the right Portland divorce attorney can make all the difference in the outcome of your divorce or related family law matters. Contact us today!