Index: All Pages

Make decisions to finish your divorce

To finish your divorce, you need to make decisions.

You need to decide

  • How you divide your property and debts​

  • Whether anyone will pay spousal support​

  • The care and support of your children (if you have them)

You can work with your spouse to decide these issues together.

  • If you can agree, you will need to write out and sign an agreement
  • If you can’t agree, you can ask the court to decide

If your spouse never filed a Response and the two of you do not have an agreement, you can skip this part and start filling out your judgment paperwork.

 

If you need something before you have an agreement - like spousal support or child custody - you can ask the court to make a temporary decision (issue an order) about your finances or family situation while the divorce is on-going. Learn how to ask for a temporary order.
 

Make decisions and write your agreement

People reach agreements in different ways. This is one way to make decisions and reach an agreement. Select any step to learn more and get step-by-step-instructions.

  • Review basic rules

    Review basic rules on property, support, and child custody. See this step

  • Decide if you have enough information

    Check if you have enough information about finances, property, and your children to make decisions. If not, find out how to get the information you need. See this step

  • Negotiate and propose agreement

    Find out what you already agree on. Propose something. Start negotiations. See this step

  • Write out agreement or ask court to decide

    If you agree, write out the agreement. You both sign and give to the judge. See this step 

     

    If you can't agree, ask the court to decide at a hearing or trial. Learn about divorce trials

success alert banner:

Have a question about Divorce?

Look for a "Chat Now" button in the right bottom corner of your screen. If you don’t see it, disable any pop-up/ad blockers on your browser.