Define: Petition

A Petition for Dissolution of Marriage is a document that states one spouse’s desire to end the marriage. The petition must be served, or legally delivered, to the other spouse. From this point on, the spouse who initiated the divorce is called the petitioner, and the other spouse is called the respondent. In Minnesota, the petition does not need to be filed with the Court right away, but most people do. Once filed with the Court, the Court (in most counties) will schedule the divorce for an Initial Case Management Conference (ICMC) to be heard within a few weeks.

The petition must, among other things, identify the names and addresses of the parties, give the date and location of the marriage, identify any children of the marriage, provide that either spouse has lived in Minnesota for at least 180 days (which is a requirement to commence a divorce proceeding in Minnesota). The petition also gives the grounds for divorce (an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage) and the spouse’s desires on custody, spousal maintenance and division of assets and debts.

When the petition is served on the respondent, a summons is also included with it. The summons provides that the respondent must “Answer” the petition within 30 days for divorce proceedings and 20 days for custody proceedings. A petition for custody is similar to a petition for dissolution of marriage, except it does not include language regarding a marriage, property, debts or spousal maintenance.

Contact Blahnik, Prchal & Stoll, PLLC

If you are needing to commence a divorce or custody proceeding, contact our firm to draft and coordinate serving your spouse with a petition for dissolution of marriage. If you were just served with a petition for dissolution of marriage or custody, contact our firm within the 30 days (for divorces) or 20 days (for custody proceedings) to ensure that an answer is served on the other party.