Legal Question in Family Law in Kansas

Good question! The fact that neither party signed the Decree does not make it invalid. If you had a trial, the lawyers' signatures just signify that the Decree was prepared accurately as to form. The judge then signs it and it becomes a court Order. If one lawyer does not believe the Decree accurately reflects the decision of the judge, Kansas Supreme Court Rule 170 specifies how any issues regarding the Decree wording are to be settled. If you resolved your case before trial, both parties would need to sign a Separation Agreement. By signing the Separation Agreement, both parties show that they have reached a negotiated resolution of the case, but they do not normally sign the Decree of Divorce.

The reasoning behind all of this is that sometimes a judge makes rulings that one party does not like. If there was a rule that both parties had to sign the Decree for it to be effective, many cases would never be completed, because one party might refuse to sign.