What is Divorce like in Vermont?

At the young age of twenty-three divorce is not what I had planned for my life. Sometimes life throws you a curve ball and divorce court is exactly where you land. Suddenly here I was separated from my husband with two small children and an infant. Divorce was on its way. Here are some of the steps I took in filing for my divorce in Vermont.

The first thing to think about is the cost. If you have no income or little income you may qualify to file your petition for divorce for a reduced amount or for free. As a mother of three with no income from a job I was able to file for eighteen dollars back in the year two thousand. If you do not qualify for this it will cost you Two-hundred and twenty-five dollars to file for a divorce if you have children involved. You will need to visit your local branch of the Vermont family court to pick up all the paper work for this and your divorce. If you and your spouse agree on the terms of your divorce it is possible that the court may lower your fees. At this point you will also need to decide if you will use a lawyer or if you will go it alone. Although my divorce was a bit nasty my former husband and I did not use lawyers. This is known as filing Pro-Se. If you go the Pro-Se route you will be required to take a class called Pro-Se education. Some how I was able to waive this class during my divorce so I cannot provide you with information on it.

Next on your list if you have the funding to go through the process you will need to fill out the paper work. You will be filling out papers that ask you about the length of separation, where you both live, your jobs, incomes, and assets, as well as about your children. You will be filling out paper work for the health department and child support offices as well. It all sounds very intimidating but quite honestly it is not that hard to fill out on your own.

During the divorce proceedings you will have to meet with some one from the Office of Child Support. This person will help you to work out an agreement for payment of child support. This is when you will also agree on custody plans as well. Be prepared to be asked how holidays will be divided, who will be in charge of medical care and costs, who will make educational decisions, who will claim the children on their taxes and more. There really is a lot to be considered during a divorce and the children's welfare is the most important one of all. In Vermont parents who are filing for a divorce are required to go to a class on divorce and children. Be very careful during this time that you stand up for your rights and your children's best interest. It is very easy to agree to things hoping to keep the peace and make things go faster at this time that you will regret later. I made this mistake when discussing child support, I allowed my former husband to call all the shots and am paying for it now. You will have a hearing at some point in front of the court to finalize child custody and support. I must note during the divorce neither parent is allowed to take the children outside of state lines. This is a legal protection to cut down on parental abductions.

Finally several months down the road you will have gone through the traditional legal separation period and you will be given a court date to finalize the divorce. If things are uncontested and peaceful you may be in and out of the court in a half hour as was the case with my divorce. When it is your turn to be seen by the court you will be asked to state if you agree with what the judge has on the paper work. You answer yes or no. If things are contested and you can not agree to terms you will more than likely be in court several times to fight it out. Finally when everything has been agreed on the judge will grant your divorce.

It would be wrong of me not to throw in one final note for women. If you have been a victim of domestic abuse of any kind be it verbal, sexual, or physical there are groups here in Vermont who will support and help you all along the way. Women Helping Battered Women is one such organization. They have advocates who will even come just sit in court with you if you need some support form an understanding woman who knows the ropes. Please do not be afraid to seek this kind of support.

Please visit http://www.vermontjudiciary.org/courts/family/domestic.htm for more information about Divorce in Vermont.