The set of papers needed for an uncontested divorce in Iowa may vary depending on the circumstances of the case. You should determine which ones are mandatory for your divorce and fill them out to file with the court. In this article, we provide basic free Iowa divorce forms that you can download and use to start the dissolution of marriage process.
Free Printable Iowa Court Forms
The set of documents to prepare will depend on the presence of minor children and disputes regarding the divorce terms. To avoid complicating the process and to be able to complete it without the involvement of a lawyer, you should try to agree with your spouse on the issues of child custody, support, and property division.
One of the first points of your Iowa divorce checklist should be finding the forms needed in your case. The common documents required in uncontested divorces with no minor children involved are specified below.
1. Petition for Dissolution of Marriage
To initiate the legal divorce process, one of the spouses, the plaintiff, should meet the residency requirements, prepare a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, and pay the filing fee for divorce when submitting it to the court.
In the Petition, you will need to enter basic personal information about the parties, details about the marriage, and your requests to the court regarding division of property, child custody, spousal support, etc. A different version of this form will be needed if minor children are involved.
Download Petition for Dissolution of Marriage
2. Original Notice
The petitioner must complete this form to inform the other spouse – the defendant – that the Petition for divorce has been filed with the court. In it, the plaintiff should indicate their contact information and data of both parties.
3. Affidavit of Service
This document is used as proof of service on the defendant if the person who served it is not the petitioner, sheriff, or private process server. It informs the court about the delivery time of the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage and the Original Notice.
4. Protected Information Disclosure
In this form, the plaintiff should indicate information that needs protection from third-party access. These can be financial account numbers, social security numbers, dates of birth, etc. If the defendant needs to add or correct some data, they can also prepare this form and submit it to the court.
Download Protected Information Disclosure
5. Financial Affidavit
It discloses spouses’ financial information and lists their assets, debts, income, and expenses. Each party prepares their own Financial Affidavit and serves it to the other spouse.
6. Settlement Agreement
Spouses use this form if they have no remaining disputes regarding the terms of divorce. It provides information on how the parties agreed on the division of personal and joint property, vehicles, bank accounts, real estate, debts, etc. It also specifies who will pay court and attorney fees, if any.
How Do I Fill out the Divorce Petition?
To fill out the Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, you first need to determine which form is necessary for your case. Iowa divorce petition forms differ depending on whether spouses have children under 18. If minor kids are involved, you will need Form 201; if not, Form 101 should be used.
- First, you will need to enter your and your spouse’s personal information, the date and place of marriage, children’s data, if any, condition of the marriage, and compliance with residency requirements.
- Then, you should list your requests to the court, which may include issues on child custody and support, visitation, medical support, spousal support, division of property and debts, attorney and court fees, etc.
- Next, you should specify whether a lawyer is involved in the case and certify that all the information provided is true.
You can fill out the Petition on paper or electronically, depending on the way you are going to file it with the court. If you submit documents on paper, you need to fill out and print divorce papers. In case you use electronic filing for divorce, you must upload them through your personal eFile account.
How Do I Serve the Divorce Papers?
After you have filed the necessary papers with the court and paid the filing fee for divorce, you will have 90 days to serve the other party. A common divorce packet in Iowa for serving a defendant may consist of a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage, Original Notice, Protected Information Disclosure, and other case-specific forms required.
If you prepare divorce papers online and file them electronically, you can serve them to the respondent through the eFile system if they also have a registered account. If you submit documents on paper or one of you is not registered through the eFile system, you can serve the other party by mail or in person, provided they sign an Acceptance of Service. If not, you can ask a sheriff, private process server, or someone over 18 to deliver the necessary papers.
If you do not know the whereabouts of your spouse, you can ask the court to allow you to notify them about the lawsuit through publication in a newspaper. However, to obtain permission from the court, you must provide the judge with evidence that you have made efforts to find your spouse by contacting their relatives, friends, and colleagues, asking for help from a lawyer, etc.
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