Can you file online.. like does that really work?

FUMoney · 2023-08-13T11:47:07+00:00

Yes, you can file online. In nearly every jurisdiction in the country, dockets are electronic, including starting a case, filing motions, submitting evidence, everything.

And the lawyers also are correct -- merely filing your complaint/petition/request for divorce and/or marital dissolution is merely "striking the match." You don't "light the fuse" of litigation unless and until you have your spouse served with service of process, and you thereafter file proof of service of process with the court. Then, and only then, does the litigation process get underway and begin to move forward -- starting with your spouse having to respond/answer your petition, likely within thirty days. But you need to get the engine moving down the tracks, which is accomplished by serving your spouse with process, and by filing proof that you served your spouse process.

And I do mean to say that filing your complaint/petition/request for divorce is merely "striking a match." You will have a period of time, generally 180 days (but every jurisdiction is different) within which to serve process on your spouse. If you fail to properly serve process, or fail to file proof of service of process, then it is likely your initial filing will be dismissed by the court for failure to serve process. In other words, if you fail to serve your spouse, your initial filing (the lit match) will eventually extinguish, and you'll have to restart the process by filing a new complaint/petition/request for divorce.

Understand that court rules and procedures are time-and-date specific to the extreme. You need to calendar this shit out, to the n'th degree. Look at the civil procedure rules: the court will even have rules on how days are counted, whether "business days" or "weekend days" count, and even the date and time when you start counting deadlines (i.e. whether it starts the day of an event, or the the time period begins to run on the first full day after an event). There may even be different deadlines depending on whether you deliver something in person, versus electronically, versus the U.S. mails. Federal holidays will be another thing to pay attention to, including whether a holiday falls on a weekday versus a weekend.

If you miss a deadline by even a single day, you run the risk the court will simply outright deny whatever it is you are seeking, whether it is discovery, a deposition, a temporary order, anything. Courts hate litigants who blow deadlines, because it is a violation of due process, a significant constitutional issue in every case. Courts are date-and-process driven. The calendar, as well as timely filings, are critical to your success, as you will soon find out.

Finally, if you file and serve, you need a lawyer immediately. Because once your spouse responds, you are off at the races, and if she has a lawyer, you're going to be in a litigation battle royale. Your failure to respond to anything could be a disaster from which it is very difficult to recover. Remember what I said about dates, being timely, the calendar, and how all of it is related to due process, a significant constitutional issue in every litigation.

pk2at · 2023-08-13T21:56:02+00:00

Yes, you can file online and also check option to not notify her of any court decisions. If you manage to get her signature on paper, its possible and legal to file for joint separation where you don't disclose any financials and get the divorce without court notification to her. State governments have given lots of options to men to save money and keep their assets and children, but men seem intent to visit lawyers who give them the worst possible advice

Title	Can you file online.. like does that really work?
Author	koolaidkid12345
Upvotes	2
Comments	5
Date	August 13, 2023 5:08 AM UTC (3 years ago)
Subreddit	Posted in /r/Divorce_Men
Original Link	https://old.reddit.com/r/Divorce_Men/comments/15pq0y9/can_you_file_online_like_does_that_really_work/
Archive Link	https://theredarchive.com/r/Divorce_Men/can-you-file-online-like-does-that-really-work.1228454 https://theredarchive.com/post/1228454

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