The Tennessee Divorce Process

 In Divorce Law

Deciding to dissolve your marriage and start over takes courage and resolve. The State of Tennessee provides a structured, step-by-step process that differs slightly depending on whether you have children together and whether you own property together.

Starting The Process

While meeting with an attorney and retaining counsel should top your list of things to do, reading the Tennessee State Courts website on divorce should, also. This informative collection of documents written for the layman, provides factual and accurate guidance on the legal process directly from its source.

Tennessee Vs. Other States

This website explains the requirements for divorce in Tennessee specific to the state. For example, in Tennessee, if you have children together, either by birth or adoption, you must file a Parenting Plan as part of your divorce documentation. This document requires the parents to set down in writing their joint plans for rearing the child or children. You can create this document together or use a mediator to do so.

In most other respects, the process in the state follows that of other states. Typically, you will make a decision to either file for legal separation or file for divorce. With a legal separation, you divide your assets and liabilities, determine custody of any children, set up support payments, and one of you moves out of the joint home. You remain married though. This lets you more easily reunite if you decide to get back together. With a divorce, you do all of the above and dissolve the marriage. This leaves you and your former spouse ready and able to remarry if you meet someone new.

The Tennessee Divorce Process

Let’s list out the steps of the divorce process with legal separation included. Please, note that the Parenting Plan only applies to divorce.

  1. Legal Separation
  2. Original Petition for Divorce
    1. Parenting Plan
    2. Temporary court orders regarding spousal support, child support, and child custody.
  3. Divorce Discovery
    1. Disclosures: Both attorneys request items from the other party in the legal action and both sides get thirty days to respond.
    2. Interrogatories: Each attorney submits a list of questions to the other party in the legal action. Most states set limits on how many questions and the response time is thirty days. Both sides get thirty days to respond.
    3. Admissions of Fact: Each party submits to the other party in the divorce a list of written facts which the receiving party must deny or admit to each fact separately.
    4. Request for Production: You do not have to write anything for this step. You simply provide financial statements, bank statements, income statements, etc. Each party gets thirty days to respond.
    5. Depositions: Both sides and any witness provide sworn testimony to the attorneys. Anything said in a deposition is admissible in court.
  4. Divorce Mediation
  5. Judge’s Decision/Final Divorce Decree
  6. Appealing a Divorce Court Order (optional)

The sixth step remains an option for those who feel their spouse received an unfair spousal settlement or that they did. You can also use it as an option for appealing child custody or visitation rights awards.

The Tennessee Divorce Process remains relatively straightforward. Contact The Slaughter Law Firm at (423) 844-0560 for a divorce consultation and let us help you navigate the process.