I submitted the paperwork this morning. It was very bittersweet.

My state implemented a new joint filing process which eliminates the need for me to serve her and for her to file a response. We just move directly into the next step which is the financial disclosure process.

Unfortunately the court charged double the filing fee, as if we filed a petition AND a response. I wasn’t happy about that but just rolled with it. They are new to the process too and I think they are still trying to figure it out.

Some of you may recall that I have already bought out my STBXW’s share of our home. I talked to a lawyer about how to address this and she indicated it wasn’t a big deal and said I just needed to submit a stipulation stating this when I filed. So I included that when I filed today.