If you and your spouse decide to stay married after you file for divorce because it's not something you want anymore, you may wonder if family court will dismiss your case. Although family court can dismiss the divorce cases of spouses who wish to stay married, you and your spouse may need to prove to the court that you both came to the decision together. Here are things you and your spouse can do to prove to family court you wish to remain married.
Both Parties Receive Marital Counseling
Although it may not be a requirement for retracting a divorce, you and your spouse may want to obtain marital counseling right away. Marital counseling can help you and your spouse come to terms about your relationship and why you filed divorce in the first place. For instance, if you originally filed for divorce based on irreconcilable differences with your spouse, marital counseling may give you a chance to discuss those differences without anger and other negative feelings getting in the way.
Once you and your spouse complete counseling and the marital counselor agrees that you both should remain married, your divorce attorney can place the information in your case file. To complete your bid to stay married, you and your spouse must file motions to dismiss the divorce with family court.
Both Parties File Motions to Dismiss the Divorce
Motions to dismiss are used to end legal disputes without going to court. In the case of divorces, one or both parties may file a motion with family court. However, in order to speed up the dismissal of your divorce case, you and your spouse should file motions with court together.
Depending on the requirements of your state's family court system, you may need to complete signed affidavits of why you and your spouse wish to remain married. You may want to sit down with your spouse and discuss the reasons together to avoid conflicts in court.
One of the things you want to do is have you and your spouse's divorce attorneys present during the discussion to document and witness it. This protects you from problems later if your spouse says that you coerced them into staying married. The attorneys may use a court reporter record the exchange as a precaution and file it along with the motions to dismiss the divorce.
For more information about retracting a divorce, contact a law firm, such as the Bray & Johnson Law Firm, today.
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