How To Get Divorce Records

By the time a divorce decree record is in your possession, marital contract has been terminated. The final decree of divorce is the court’s official order granting dissolution of your marriage.


For some, divorce decree records represent a victory but for most it’s a reminder of an unpleasant past.


Before, getting a divorce is hard to accomplish because of the fault based divorce system. You need to establish that the defendant is guilty of betraying your marriage. Not only is it difficult, it is also expensive. But since the no fault divorce was passed, it became easier for couples to end their marriage because no fault needs to be established. This shift in the system changed the way how we perceive divorce. While it was almost a taboo to have a divorce before, now it became a normal part of conversation.


This is one of the reasons why divorce decree records become valuable. It gives you information on why the divorce took place in the first place. While with the fault based divorce, we can immediately conclude that the cause of a divorce is either infidelity or abandonment, causes becomes more varied with the no fault divorce. You need to establish that there is a breakdown of marriage. You don’t even need to prove that your spouse was to blame for the failure of your marriage.


In some states, it won’t suffice to claim of a breakdown of marriage. The couple must live separately for a couple of months or years before they can get a no-fault divorce. Depending on the state, this requirement can be range from a period of six months to five years.

But people don’t just use divorce decree records to unveil the past. They also use it to start anew or build blocks for a better future. A divorce decree record is required when you wish to remarry. It is also helpful to trace kinship, to change last names or to claim an inheritance.

Divorce decree records are available in the vital records office of your courthouse, in the county where you obtained your divorce. In most situations, the court clerk or your attorney will mail you a copy of your final decree. If you want another copy you can also request for it either personally or thru mail.


If you don’t have the time and the reason for this record is not a requirement for legal purposes, you can just search it thru the internet. The government owns a database that you can use in your search. Private Websites also offer online searches. All you need to put are the couple’s names as well as the location where the divorce took place. It wouldn’t get any easier than that.

Tags: divorce decree record divorce system end their marriage no fault divorce breakdown of marriage vital records