Respected Overland Park Divorce Lawyers

Concerned lawyers in Overland Park share the journey with clients throughout Kansas

The dissolution of your marriage is an emotional and stressful event. By effectively managing the legal aspects of your divorce, our caring, composed, and compassionate attorneys at The Henry Law Firm, P.A. seek to ease your pain and frustration so you can concentrate on your own and your family’s health and well-being. Drawing on 30 years of combined legal experience, our skilled attorneys guide you through every step of the divorce process. We are committed to partnering with you, protecting your rights and advancing your goals, as you transition from one phase of life to the next.

Knowledgeable assistance with all your vital divorce issues

Before the court can issue a divorce decree, you must resolve four major issues:

• Spousal maintenance — Also known as alimony, support for a dependent spouse is a pressing issue affecting each party’s financial future.
• Child custody — The questions of where your children will live and who will make important decisions affecting their health and welfare matter greatly to their future and yours. We help you create a parenting plan that suits your needs and circumstances.
• Child support — Both parents have a duty to provide material support for their children. We help you achieve a fair child support order based on your true finances and your children’s needs.
• Division of property — Dividing marital assets and debts can be a complex process, even for middle-class couples who don’t consider themselves to be wealthy. The valuation of a family business, the possession or sale of the family home, and the division of retirement accounts are just a few of the issues that can become contentious.
• LGBTQ+ divorce – We can assist with same-sex marriage dissolution or other LGBTQ+ family law matters.

Our family law attorneys assert your financial and parental rights effectively to achieve results that allow you to start the next phase of your life on a secure footing.

Understanding the divorce process in Kansas

Our divorce attorneys in Overland Park take our role as educators very seriously. We know from experience that preparing our clients for what lies ahead builds confidence and bestows peace of mind. When you partner with us for your divorce, we make sure you are fully informed about the law, how it applies to your situation, and what the process ahead will be like.

In general, these are the major steps in a Kansas divorce:

• Establishing residency — To file for divorce in Kansas, a petitioner must have lived in the state for at least 60 days.
• Choosing a venue — A petitioner may file suit for divorce in the county where either party resides.
• Filing the petition — The petitioner files a petition for divorce, asking the court to dissolve the marriage and proposing terms for a divorce decree. The filing requirements for couples with children are different from those without children. If you have minor children, you must file additional paperwork, including a civil information sheet, a domestic relations affidavit, a child support worksheet and a proposed parenting plan. The petitioner must pay a filing fee.
• Service of process — The petitioner must arrange for the respondent spouse to receive notice of the pending divorce action.
• Filing an answer — The respondent spouse may file an answer to the petition but is not required to do so.
• Notice of hearing — The petitioner requests a final hearing date from the clerk of the county court. Kansas law does not allow that hearing to take place until 60 days have passed since the date the petition was filed. The petitioner must inform the respondent of the hearing date.

Under the best of circumstances, you and your spouse would have worked out a marital settlement agreement to present to the court by your hearing date. This means you have resolved all of the necessary issues and the court can use your agreement as the basis of its divorce decree. The result is what is called an uncontested divorce.

However, if you have not reached an agreement, any outstanding issues must be resolved. A judge might order mediation to resolve these issues or set a date for trial. A divorce that goes to trial on any or all issues is known as a contested divorce.

Skilled family law mediators encourage cooperation and courtesy

Mediation gives you and your spouse the opportunity to negotiate a divorce settlement in a more amicable setting by working with a trained facilitator. The mediation process fosters cooperation between partners and produces less stress and hostility than is usually associated with litigation. Mediation often reduces the time and costs of divorce and puts the decisions in your hands. Our experienced negotiators can help you obtain the most equitable divorce settlement, fair child support agreement and healthy child custody arrangement.

Our divorce attorneys in Overland Park stand by your side

Sometimes litigation is necessary to resolve your divorce issues. Having a strong divorce lawyer by your side can alleviate the uncertainty and stress of the arduous process and help you obtain the most favorable trial outcome. Through tactical trial strategies and dynamic courtroom presence, our skilled litigators successfully represent clients throughout the adversarial litigation process when necessary.

Contact Kansas divorce attorneys you can trust.

At The Henry Law Firm, P.A., we understand how stressful divorce can be. We work closely with you to lighten your emotional burden while providing capable representation focused on optimal results. Call us at 913-381-5020 or contact us online to schedule a consultation with one of our family law attorneys in Overland Park.