It's the month to sing: 'Reunited and it feels so good...'

Author:  Marie E. Matyjaszek

Love is in the air during the month of February – red and pink colors are plastered in every store window and heart-shaped jewelry abounds at the mall. Some people claim to love being in love, and this could be why they entertain ideas of setting aside their divorce action and reconciling with their husband or wife.

At times, there seem to be a plethora of reasons to go forward with the divorce action – he can’t pick his underwear up off the floor, you trip over screwdrivers and tools that you don’t even know the name of, let alone would ever get permission to use, and he shrinks all of your clothes. There are solutions to some of these problems – let your dogs play tug-of-war with all of his belongings that live on the floor – the financial hit of replacing his wardrobe provides significant incentive to pick up after himself. But the benefit of having a partner to help raise the kids, listen to your problems, provide a second income and health insurance are also strong reasons to stay in the marriage. If you lack culinary skills like I do, eating home-cooked meals on a regular basis helps too. And, despite all his faults, you still love the guy.

If you’ve started a divorce action but decide to give the relationship another go, you can dismiss the action with little difficulty. Assuming you did not yet serve your spouse with the divorce papers, you can file a notice of dismissal and cross your fingers that he never finds out. It’s much more common for the divorce to have been ongoing for a few months and the parties then decide to attempt reconciliation. A stipulation and order dismissing the divorce action would be signed by all parties and the judge, and entered with the court. Voila! Let the reconciliation begin.

In Jackson County, it is acceptable local practice to add in a provision allowing the parties a time period within which they can re-file the divorce action without having to wait the full statutory waiting period of 60 or 180 days, and without having to pay the divorce filing fee again. Other counties may allow for different provisions or may exclude these all together. This “grace period” provides some with peace of mind that the process can be expedited if it doesn’t work out, but others believe it’s setting the couple up to fail.

Just because I’m a divorce attorney doesn’t mean that I want couples to break up. Both parties making a concerted effort to sustain their relationship is why “every kiss begins with Kay.” Then again, if they all did that, I might be out of a job.

Courtesy of Jackson County Legal News, 2/7/11, Vol. 46, No. 18