Hogan Attorneys can help you navigate divorce without court if that's the route you'd like to take.

lf you've lived apart from your spouse for six months (or 12 months if you have minor children), you can file a Petition for Divorce. Your spouse will be served by a deputy sheriff, or s/he can accept service in front of a notary.

lf your spouse doesn't file a written answer, you (and a witness) can sign affidavits saying you've lived separate and apart. The rest is done by your lawyer filing these affidavits and other papers in the Court record at the Clerk of Court's office. Using these affidavits, the Judge will sign the Judgment granting you the divorce.

This entire process should only take one to two months, and it's peaceful. You won't have to take off work or appear in front of a Courtroom full of people, and it will cost you a lot less in attorney's fees. Divorce no court is a great option.

If you have other issues, for example child custody, support, and community property, you'll have to go to Court. However, you could still avoid court if you can get your spouse to sign a Consent or Stipulated Judgment agreeing to settle these issues. lf you both sign that Judgment, there is no need to appear in a Courtroom, which again, saves you money, stress, and embarrassment. Separating and divorcing is stressful enough as it is, so it’s much better not to go to Court to resolve these issues.

Both parties and their attorneys can sit around a conference room table and negotiate a settlement of all these issues. Hogan Attorneys would represent one of the parties and draft the Judgment for the Court to sign.

Or, the parties could do a mediation with or without attorneys. Mediation is a way to resolve disputes between the parties without going to Court. Attorney Lila Tritico Hogan is a mediator who will meet with both parties to help them settle their disagreements and enter into a Memorandum of Understanding which they can then take to other attorneys to review, advise, and put into a Judgment to be filed with the Court. Or, we can meet with the parties and their individual attorneys at the same time to resolve issues and put the agreement into a Judgment to be filed.

Here at Hogan Attorneys, we believe that if you have to take a family into the Courtroom, no one wins. Taking a divorce into the Courtroom is another way to destroy the family. We urge our clients to try to settle their issues peacefully.

The affidavit divorce is one way to move on with your lives and still stay a family, even though you are no longer married. Remember those future events like graduations, weddings, births of grandchildren - you and your former spouse will need to be at those.

A peaceful divorce helps your children and grandchildren enjoy these times with you both.

[Please Note: The information provided on this website is intended as general information provided by the Hogan Attorneys law firm. 

Hogan Attorneys specialize as family law attorneys in addition to criminal law and employment law. Each person's legal issues and divorce process are unique. Do not rely upon this information. 

If you have a particular issue that needs to be addressed, an initial consultation with a divorce lawyer or divorce attorney who understands divorce law will help you know your rights and options.]