Help Yourself Divorce is a no-fault divorce service, for those who agree on the terms of the divorce
and
are both willing to sign the papers. The following is a
list of requirements and information about what to expect from the
process. Please note that this will only apply if you use the services of
Help Yourself Divorce. Those seeking to use another route for their
divorce should perform their own research about what to expect from the
process.
Grounds
for Divorce in Missouri.
When Help Yourself Divorce prepares your divorce papers, your divorce
will be filed on the no-fault grounds that "there remains no reasonable
likelihood that the marriage can be preserved and that therefore the marriage
is irretrievably broken."
Missouri Residency
Requirements.
In order to use our services, either you or your spouse must have been
a resident of the state of Missouri, or a member of the armed services
who has been stationed in the state of Missouri, for 90 days immediately
before you file the papers.
If you and your spouse have minor children, the court must have jurisdiction
over them. Generally this means your children must have lived in Missouri
for at least six months and currently live in Missouri, or have lived
in Missouri within six months of filing.
Filing for
Divorce.
The divorce papers can be filed in the Missouri county where either spouse
resides.
Missouri Divorce Filing
Fees.
When you file the papers, you will have to pay a separate filing fee to
the Courts. Please check with your local court clerk to find out how much
the current filing fee is.
Service.
You are required to prove to the court that you served your
spouse with copies of all the divorce papers. The way you provide service
is by mailing or hand-delivering a copy of the papers to your spouse.
Your spouse will then sign a legal document indicating receipt of the
papers. Either you or your spouse will file this form with the court.
Waiting Period/Final
Hearing.
Your divorce can be finalized once at least 30 days have elapsed since
filing the petition. Your divorce is finalized during a brief uncontested
divorce hearing. Both spouses are typically required to attend.
***We are sorry but we cannot prepare divorce papers for St. Louis
County or St. Charles County.
You may download and print the forms for St. Louis County at no cost
from the St. Louis County Court's website: http://www.stlouisco.com/circuitcourt/fcforms/DissolutionForms.pdf
You may download and print forms for St. Charles County (or any other
Missouri county) at no cost from the Missouri Court's website: http://www.selfrepresent.mo.gov/file.jsp?id=31147
***
