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A
“petition” is the document filed in court that requests
the court to enter a divorce (or other order affecting the marital
relationship) and requests that the court determine other issues – or approve
agreements – between the parties.
The
first step in starting any domestic action is the filing of the
"petition." The petition is a simple, straight-forward
legal document that contains basic information about the parties, the claims
made, and the “relief” requested. The spouse who first files the petition
is the "Petitioner" (although Kansas law states that the term is not
supposed to be used). The other spouse — the
spouse against whom the Petition is filed — is
called the "Respondent" (although, again, Kansas law states that the term is not
supposed to be used).
The following
information is included in the petition:
- Names of Husband and Wife;
- Date and place of marriage;
- Whether a divorce, separate
maintenance or annulment is requested;
- Grounds for the divorce,
separate maintenance or annulment;
- Names, birthdates (month
and year), and ages of any children;
- A request that property and
debt be divided;
- A request for child support
and/or spousal support, if applicable;
- A request for any other general
“relief.”
If the husband and wife have children of their marriage,
additional information regarding the residence addresses and the persons
with whom the custody of the children has been during the past five years
is required to be included in the petition. In addition, if any previous
actions have been filed requesting custody orders,
those previous actions must be identified by the court in which they were
filed, the date when filed and the case number.
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