Why Would The Court Reject My Divorce Paperwork?

Divorce is the legal process for spouses to end their marriage. The term for a divorce in Oregon is a dissolution of marriage. A spouse must file paperwork with the appropriate court for the divorce case to begin. Parties in the divorce must ensure that documents submitted to the court comply with state law and are completed in full. The court may reject a filer's paperwork if it does not comply with the law or contains errors. The filer, or also known as the petitioner, will need to serve proper documents to the respondent, their ex-spouse.

The petitioner must meet residency requirements for a divorce case to remain in an Oregon court. Suppose the grounds for divorce lack sufficient age and understanding to make a contract or void marriage. In this case, the marriage must have occurred in Oregon, and either party must be a resident or domiciliary when the case begins. One of the parties must be an Oregon resident who has lived in Oregon for at least six consecutive months before filing the suit.

A court may reject divorce paperwork filed in the wrong court. A court must have jurisdiction to file and hear a case. Jurisdiction is the court’s authority to preside over a suit and make rulings on its matters. The petitioner must refile the petition in the appropriate court.

After the petitioner-spouse files the petition, the respondent-spouse must receive notice of the divorce suit. The petitioner must serve the petition and summons on the other spouse. The summons instructs the respondent on how to respond to the petition. The petitioner has sixty days from the petition filing date to notify the respondent. Failure to serve the petition within the time limit may result in a rejection of divorce paperwork and dismissal of a case. The petitioner would then have to refile the petition to open a new divorce suit.