Complaint/Affidavits/Statistical Report
The "Complaint", "Financial Affidavit
", "Child Support Affidavit" and
"Custody Affidavit" (if needed) and "
Vital Statistics Form" are all prepared in the first few weeks of your divorce.
The "Complaint" states your name and address, the fact
that you are represented by our firm, your spouse‘s name and address, the names and ages of
your children (if any), the date and place of your marriage, the fact that you meet the
residency requirement and that your marriage should be dissolved. The "
Financial Affidavit" is a form which briefly sets out your income, your
spouse‘s income, your expenses and debts and any other relevant information concerning your
financial situation. The "Child Support Affidavit"
is a calculation of child support using the income of both you and your spouse. This
calculation is based upon the
"
Nebraska Child Support Guidelines" produced by the State of Nebraska.
You can find these tables by clicking the phrase "
Nebraska Child Support
Guidelines" in this website. The calculation is not subject to variation
unless you meet one of several exceptions. You should discuss child support with your
attorney during your initial consultation. If you have questions about "
Child Support Enforcement
",
the website maintained by the State of Nebraska, Department of Health and Human Services, may
help you. The "Vital Statistics Form" is required by the state, and
you will not receive a divorce without completing the form. Custody Affidavit
forms are very specific to
each case, and if you think you may be involved in a custody dispute with your spouse you
should discuss the custody affidavit in detail with your attorney.
Once the "Complaint" is filed, your spouse must be notified of the
proceedings. Assuming that
you know your spouse‘s whereabouts, there are two primary ways to notify him or her: the
Sheriff may take the papers to your spouse and deliver them personally or we can mail them
to your spouse or his/her attorney and request that he or she sign a "Voluntary Appearance".
A Voluntary Appearance acknowledges receipt of copies of the documents and reserves any
rights your spouse might have to file a response with the Court. It saves your spouse the
possible embarrassment (and saves the cost) of a formal service of the papers by the Sheriff.
If you do not know the whereabouts of your spouse, please let us know. It may be possible
to fulfill the notice requirement by publishing a notice of the proceedings in a legal
newspaper (this type of notice will limit the type of "relief" you may obtain in your
divorce - we will discuss this in greater detail with you if you are facing this dilemma).
If your spouse has already filed a Complaint, and you have been served with a summons or
asked to sign a Voluntary Appearance, please provide us with copies of any papers you have
received.