Nelson & Booth attorneys at law

How do I start a domestic relations proceeding?

In order for the lawyers at Nelson & Booth to do anything for you, we must be retained as your attorneys. In order to be retained, we require the following:

1. A signed attorney fee agreement;
2. Payment of the retainer (security deposit)
3. signing of a verification affirming that the facts in the petition or answer are true and correct.
4. provision to us of any documents that are necessary to allow us to adequately prepare the documents that we need to file.

The first step taken in starting any domestic action is the filing of the "petition." The petition is a simple, straight forward legal document that contains basic information for the court's information. The spouse who first files the petition is called the "Petitioner." The other spouse — the spouse against whom the Petition for Divorce is filed — is called the "Respondent." The following information is included in the petition:

1. Names of Husband and Wife;
2. Date and place of marriage;
3. Grounds for divorce, separate maintenance or annulment;
4. Names, dates of birth and ages of any children of the marriage;
5. A request that the parties' property and debt be divided;
6. A request for child support and/or spousal support, if applicable;

If there are minor children of the 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.

NELSON & BOOTH is a law firm engaged exclusively in a family law practice emphasizing complex domestic relations actions, including divorce and determination of parentage, property division, child custody, parenting time, spousal and child support and representation of parents in cases of international child abduction.

The attorneys at NELSON & BOOTH are licensed to practice only in the
states of Kansas or Missouri.

E-mail: Ronald W. Nelson or Joseph W. Booth

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Last updated 11/05/2003