While I can’t make divorce go away, I can offer a less stressful, complicated and expensive divorce.  My goal is to ease you through this difficult time without causing you extra stress and burden.  My firm offers a flat fee low cost Kansas divorce for couples that meet my criteria:

1. Have both you and your spouse agreed that your marriage is broken and you both wish to obtain a divorce?
2. Are you both comfortable with the knowledge you have concerning your family finances, including assets and debts?
3. Are you and your spouse still able to clearly and calmly communicate with each other?
4. Do you and your spouse agree on issues regarding parenting, such as child custody, parenting time and holidays?
5. Do you and your spouse agree on the division of marital assets, debts and other property division?
6. Do you want to save time and money with respect to your divorce?

Click on the “Uncontested” tab and read more about this service.  Feel free to contact me for more information or to set up your initial consultation.

1. do you both want a divorce?

2. do you both want your divorce to be resolved amicably, without the use of a Judge?

3. do you both agree to the division of debts?

4. do you both agree to the division of assets?

5. if you have children, do you agree on a schedule (parenting time)?

6. if you have children, do you agree to follow Kansas Child Support Guidelines for figuring child support?

7. have you both discussed maintenance (or alimony)?  Do you agree to waive this support amount or do you agree to pay it?

The most important factor here is that you BOTH agree on things and that you BOTH want your case resolved quickly, amicably, and without court intervention.  This does not mean that you both use the same attorney, however.  It is advisable for each party to at least have an attorney review the agreement prepared to confirm the agreement is fair, just and equitable.

The Law Office of Shea Stevens LLC offers a low cost, flat fee service for uncontested divorce in Kansas.  Please refer to the Uncontested Tab at the top of this page for more information.

1. YOU KEEP ARGUING ABOUT FAULT AND YOU LIVE IN A NO-FAULT STATE.  You want to “win”  or make your spouse “pay” due to your spouse’s fault in the breakdown of the marriage.
2. YOU HAVE UNCLEAR GOALS.  You don’t know what your goals and objectives are with respect to the outcome of the divorce.  It is hard to produce results for clients that don’t know what they want in the first place.
3. YOU LET YOUR EMOTIONS TAKE OVER.  Every divorce attorney understands that this is a very emotional time in your life.  However, your case will not be easily resolved or settled if you let emotions control your decisions.
4. USING YOUR ATTORNEY AS A THERAPIST. As stated above, emotions are high in a divorce case.  Be careful to not vent about your spouse or discuss each and every problem you had in your marriage with your attorney.  Divorce lawyers do care about your feelings, however, they are more concerned about the facts in the case and assisting you in resolving the divorce.  A therapist is more suited to help you emotionally heal and move on with your life, and not to mention, they generally have a cheaper hourly fee than your attorney.
5. EXPECTING THE COURTS TO PRODUCE JUSTICE.  If you are refusing to a settlement agreement in hopes that a Judge will award you what you want, keep reading.  Let’s be very clear.  No one wins in a divorce.  This is especially true in a divorce trial as when the Judge makes a decision it is rarely a win-win decision, and to make matters worse, both spouses generally end up feeling like they lost.  Your attorney can usually advise you of the general decisions Judges make in divorce trials, and what results you are likely to expect if your case goes to trial.  Johnson County has even produced guidelines, as I have mentioned in prior posts, that discuss the decisions that Judges will make when deciding a divorce case.  For a copy of these guidelines click here.

Solution to not being able to afford a divorce in Kansas:

Allow the Law Office of Shea Stevens, LLC to assist you and your spouse through the divorce process in a controlled, comfortable and very low cost uncontested divorce.  Please refer to this post to determine if you and your spouse will quality for an uncontested divorce, and then read on to this post to learn about the process.  I can assist you and your spouse from filing the initial paperwork to having the Judge sign off on the final decree.  A divorce does not have to be an expensive, complicated process.  Please feel free to contact me via phone or email for more information or to set up a consultation.

Uncontested Divorce Process for a Kansas Divorce

Since many of my clients file uncontested divorces, I have the process very streamlined.  We can communicate solely through email or we can meet in my office.  When we meet you will need to bring several items with you, or else we can exchange documents via email and pdf attachments, or by fax.  I have forms that you fill out to provide me all of the information I will need.  Below is a list of an example of information that will be required with respect to the property settlement.

• Information regarding your mortgage – are both parties on the note?
• Cars/Boats, etc – is loan in both names?
• Bank Accounts – if they are not split already, how will they be split.  Need names of banks where accounts are held
• Retirement Accounts – how will they be divided?  Where are they held?  What type of account is it? 401-K, IRA, etc.
• Life Insurance – what type of policy? Who is the beneficiary?
• Inheritance
• Credit cards – need name of card, how much is owed and who will be responsible for what portion
• Student loans
• Medical bills

Also, if you have children we will need to discuss a detailed plan regarding the care, custody, visitation and support of the children.  There are many sample forms I can provide you and you can tailor a plan to fit your families needs.  Child support is calculated using software approved by the Courts.  If the parties agree, they can deviate from the amount suggested by the Kansas Child Support Guidelines.

What the law firm will do for you

Once you provide me the necessary information, I will draft all of the legal documents required for your divorce to be final.  I charge a flat fee for an unconstested divorce, and this fee will be set at the time of the initial consultation.  The fee varies depending on the complexity of your case, for instance, if you own real estate, have children, require retirement accounts to be split, etc. This flat fee will include:

• the filing fee, which is currently $156.00
• preparation of documents (Petition, Entry of Appearance, Domestic Relations Affidavit, Settlement Agreement, Decree of Divorce, Certificate of Dissolution of Marriage)
• taking the documents to the courthouse to file
• providing you pdf or hard copies of all documents
• court appearances, if any

This streamlined process will save you and your spouse time and money and allow you to amicably end your marriage.  If you would like more information, or to contact me about an uncontested divorce in the Greater Kansas City Area, please click here for my contact information.

In Kansas, there is a minimum 60-day waiting period from the time you file the Petition until the Court will grant a final divorce.  However, most divorces take longer than the 60-day time frame, and generally take from six months to over one year.  Of course, the time frame greatly differs on the parties, for instance, if the divorce is contested or not contested.

Time frame for an Uncontested Divorce in Kansas

1. File the Petition: The 60-day waiting period begins on the date the Petition is filed.  Usually, uncontested divorces can be finalized very soon after 60 days as there is only one court date required by the court, if any.

2. Settlement Agreement: After the Petition is filed, the parties then agree on the division of property, debts, assets and issues regarding the children, in a document called a settlement agreement.  The settlement agreement is signed by both parties, but not the Judge.

3. Divorce Decree: The agreements of the settlement agreement are memorialized in a Divorce Decree, which is presented to the Judge and is the document that is filed with the Court and deems the divorce final. The settlement agreement is usually attached to the Divorce Decree as an attachment. If the parties have minimal assets and no children, then a settlement agreement is not necessary and all issues can be determined through the divorce decree. 
   

Time frame for Contested Divorce in Kansas

A contested divorce is a much more lengthy process and can take years to finalize.  In my office, most contested divorces take at minimum six months.  While the courts in Johnson County prefer parties’ settle their issues through mediation or a settlement agreement, the Courts still have many divorce trials.  If a case is contested, it does not necessarily mean you will go to trial, however, your attorney will need to prepare your case as if it will go to trial. The preparation requires the parties’ attorney’s gain as much information as possible about the parties and this is done through discovery.  The process of discovery is often used in order to learn information about the parties’ financial information, property ownership and any other issue that may be in dispute between the parties.  It may also be necessary to issue subpoenas or take depositions of certain parties to attest to certain issues or facts in the case

1. File the Petition
2. Serve the Respondent
3. Draft the Settlement Agreement
4. Schedule the Hearing and Notify the Respondent
5. Attend the Hearing
6. File the Decree and Certificate of Divorce

The Petition: The person who files the Petition is the Petitioner and the other party is the Respondent. You or your spouse must reside in the county you file in for 60 days prior to filing the Petition. A sample form can be found at the Johnson County District Court Website.

Service: Service can be made in one of three ways, however, in an uncontested divorce, service is generally perfected by the Respondent signing an Entry of Appearance

1. The Respondent can sign an Entry of Appearance (see link above for sample form)
2. The Sheriff will serve a copy of the Petition to your spouse
3. A private process server can serve a copy of the Petition to your spouse

Settlement Agreement: During the 60 day waiting period, your attorney, you and your spouse will work on a Settlement Agreement, if necessary. In some cases, it is not necessary to draft this lengthy document, but in most cases it is utilized. The Settlement Agreement is approximately a 25-page document that determines the division of debts and assets, property division, child custody, child support, maintenance, as well as other issues. This document takes several drafts to perfect, and once completed, both you and your spouse will sign and have your signature notarized.

Schedule Hearing and Notification: At the time of filing the Petition, you will be assigned to a Judge and given a case number. Most Judges still require a formal hearing in order to finalize the divorce. There are a handful of Judges in Johnson County that will allow the documents to be submitted via mail, but most require oral testimony from one party. The date of the final hearing will be set for a date after the 60 day waiting period has expired. The Respondent must be notified of the hearing date if he/she wishes to attend the final hearing.

Attend Hearing: One of the spouses must attend the hearing. The Judge will require testimony from one or both spouses, if present to confirm the spouse understands the terms of the settlement agreement and is comfortable with the decisions he/she has made.

File the Decree: At the time of the final hearing, the Judge does not sign the Settlement Agreement; he/she signs the Decree. The Final Decree is a summary of the Settlement Agreement (or terms of the Divorce) and is filed with the Civil Records department. This document is necessary to deem your divorce final and granted. At the time you file the Decree, a Certificate of Dissolution is also filed. This document is sent to the Office of Vital Statistics in Topeka and the State updates their records to reflect you and your spouse as single.

1. Have both you and your spouse agreed that your marriage is broken and you both wish to obtain a divorce?
2. Are you both comfortable with the knowledge you have concerning your family finances, including assets and debts?
3. Are you and your spouse still able to clearly and calmly communicate with each other?
4. Do you and your spouse agree on issues regarding parenting, such as child custody, parenting time and holidays?
5. Do you and your spouse agree on the division of marital assets, debts and other property division?
6. Do you want to save time and money with respect to your divorce?

If you answered yes to all of the questions above, then you would be a great candidate for an uncontested divorce. In most cases, I charge a flat fee for uncontested divorces, however, this fee varies depending on several factors, for example, if you have minor children, real estate or retirement accounts you wish to divide. Please feel free to email me or call me for a free consultation and quote for the cost of your divorce.