Legal Question in Family Law in Tennessee

Re: What Do I Do?

The answers to many of your questions are more personal than they are legal. Certainly, if you wish to work everything out with your husband and want to reconcile, you should do so. However, you must ask yourself if he is in fact interested in staying in the marriage or if he is instead set on divorce. If you don't file first, will he go ahead and file? Generally, whoever files first in a divorce has the upper hand throughout the divorce proceeding. So, if divorce is inevitable, I would advise you to file first. Let me explain to you in basic terms the process if you do choose to file for divorce. We will file a Complaint for Divorce with the court and from the date that Complaint is filed, you will have a 90 day waiting period before the divorce can be finalized. During that 90 day period, we will draft a Marital Dissolution Agreement which will equitably divide all your debts and assets. Both parties sign off on the MDA prior to the hearing in court. In addition, we will need to draft a Parenting Plan which covers child support, visitation and all other matters related to your child. Both of you will also be required to attend a parenting course before the divorce can be finalized. Once both of you have signed the MDA, parenting plan, have taken the course, & the 90-day period has passed, we will set a date with the Court for a hearing. If you file the divorce, only you will need to be present at the hearing. Likewise, if he files first, you will not need to be present in Court. Lastly, as an alternate to divorce, you might consider legal separation whereby the two of you remain married but the court can address matters of custody, support, visitation, division of property, etc as if you were both divorced. I hope this answers some of your questions. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions. Jennifer L. Jones, Esq.