Does It Matter Who Files for Divorce?
The spouse who takes the initiative to file divorce is called the petitioner. The other spouse is referred to as the respondent. This is true throughout all of the family court proceedings, regardless of which spouse may bring an action in the future.
For instance, if a wife files the initial divorce petition, she is the petitioner. If after the divorce her ex-husband sues for custody of the children, she would still be referred to as the petitioner in that action, although she would not have been the one to file that particular petition.
The petitioner names the grounds for divorce and if there is a choice of venue for the divorce, they may choose where to file. However, if anything is left out or incorrect in the initial divorce petition, the respondent may file a cross-petition.
One benefit of being the petitioner in a divorce action is that you do have a little more control of the process. The respondent must be served with the divorce petition, so being the petitioner can save the embarrassment of having a process server come into your workplace.
The petitioner generally already has a divorce lawyer too. So as a respondent, you may feel at a disadvantage as you scramble to find a divorce lawyer.
