Family Law Attorneys in Des Moines

No-fault divorce in which the spouses are not required to prove that the other caused the breakdown of the marriage. Primary issues to be decided are alimony or spousal support, property division, children, child custody, visitation, and child support. Custody must address both physical custody and legal custody.  Physical custody typically involves allocating parental rights and responsibilities regarding the day-to-day care and activities of the children.  Legal custody typically involves allocating the legal rights and responsibilities associated with the child’s upbringing.

Parents must financially support their children.  An order for child support may be entered during or after a divorce, and either parent may be ordered to pay support depending upon how custody is arranged.  An order for support will be entered once paternity has been established.

A divorce case begins with the filing of a Petition for Dissolution of Marriage in the District Court of the county where either party lives. Iowa is a no-fault State, which means no specific grounds for the Divorce need to be alleged. The Petition will usually set out how the Petitioner (the filing spouse) feels the court should resolve issues such as custody of children, the establishment of child support, or spousal support (alimony), division of the marital assets and debts, and payment of attorney’s fees and court costs.  A mandatory 90-day waiting period must pass before a divorce can be granted.

Once the Petition has been filed, a copy of that Petition, along with any accompanying orders, must be provided to the other spouse. Process in one of three ways to do this:

1. The other spouse can simply sign a paper acknowledging the receipt of those documents.
2. A process server or county sheriff can hand the other spouse the papers.
3. In rare cases, the court will allow under limited to be served by publication in a newspaper.

The parties may proceed to trial if they are unable to reach an agreement on all disputed issues.  Either party can request information from the other using several different methods.  Questions called Interrogatories can be sent requiring the other party to answer those questions under oath.  A request that a party produce documents or admit certain facts can also be sent to the other party.  Before a trial can take place in many counties, the parties and/or their attorneys may be required to attend a pretrial conference to advise the court of what issues have been resolved and which remain disputed.  Many counties require the parties to attend mediation.  If the parties are unable to reach an agreement, the divorce case will be scheduled for trial before a judge.  The judge will make a determination and announce orally or in writing what that determination is.

Paternity: The procedures outlined above for Divorce apply in general to an action to establish paternity of a child with some notable exceptions:

1. Paternity actions involve parents of a child who are not married to one another. Therefore issues involving the distribution of assets and debts and alimony are not present.
2. There is no 90-day waiting period before a Paternity Decree can be entered.
3. An alleged father can dispute the paternity of the child or children in question. Paternity testing, usually through DNA samples, can be ordered. If paternity is disputed, this testing must demonstrate that the probability that the alleged father is in fact the father of the child must be at least 95%.
4. The court may require the father to pay or contribute to the birthing and hospital expenses for the child and mother.

Adoption: By Consent: A person seeks to adopt his or her spouse’s child from a former relationship. A Petition is prepared naming the parent seeking to adopt as the Petitioner. Petitioner’s spouse signs a document indicating that he or she consents to the adoption.  Other parent signs a similar document consenting to the adoption.  Obtain Order appointing Guardian Ad Litem. 
The parent whose parental rights are being terminated must receive proper notice.  The Guardian Ad Litem must be given notice.  The Guardian Ad Litem will file a report

Judge makes findings that the statutory requirements have been met and approves the adoption. A new birth certificate will then be issued for the child along with a new Social Security card.

Contested: A person seeks to adopt a child’s spouse from a former relationship without the other parent’s consent.  It is a two-step process.  The first step is to terminate parental rights.  A Petition is filed naming the proposed parent as the Petitioner and the non-consenting parent as the Respondent.  Orders appointing a Guardian Ad Litem.  The parent is then served with the Petition.  Guardian Ad Litem must also be given notice.

Hearing itself is tried to a Judge.  Court’s primary concern and consideration is the best interests of the child.   If the court determines that the proposed parent is the best interest of the child the court will enter an Order terminating the parents parental rights.  Then a Petition for adoption may be filed.

Enforcement of Orders: Suspend professional or business license, take away driver and recreational license, payment of future owed sums in advance, or non-paying parents in jail when child support obligations are overdue.