Divorce is messy and confusing. Forms are even more so. There are so many places to look online and so many sources of conflicting information.
Most family courts in the U.S. today have online links to legitimate family court divorce forms. Here are a few examples: Tennessee; Florida; Oregon.
The most important thing to verify is whether or not your local court approves the forms you choose to use. Whether or not they have approved the forms can mean the difference between costly changes and requests by judges for more information.
There are lots of online legal form shops that offer low rates for forms they suggest are court approved, without actually providing the proper court-approved forms. Be careful that you do not waste money on forms that turn out not to meet your state’s requirements. Local attorneys can help verify, supply, or revise divorce forms, but of course, they charge for their services.
It would be much simpler if all states agreed upon a uniform basic set of divorce forms, and folks could attach their agreements and be done. However, each state still has its own set of laws that govern divorce, as well as their own manner for calculating child support. Until divorce law becomes more universal, each state will have different laws about marriage and divorce, and thus, each one requires different information on their forms.
