Your next step in applying for divorce will be to take all your forms and get then to the court house where you will have them filed by the court clerk. The court clerk will look over all your forms, both the copies and the originals. Once the clerk is satisfied with the forms then he will hand back the copies to you marked ‘Filed; and keep the originals for the court.

If requesting any temporary orders, like spousal support, child support, or domestic violence orders, you should have filled out a document and given it to the court clerk before. You can get in contact with a family law facilitator or your lawyer to get added notes about the forms you should fill out.

When you register your papers, this is be regarded as the ‘first appearance’. When filing petitions, there are often filing fees and the court clerk will let you know how much it will total. Ask about the fee waiver if you are unable to pay for the court’s filing fees.