The Kansas Judicial Branch has child support and parenting time worksheets available for download at http://www. kscourts. org/rules-procedures-forms/Child-Support-Guidelines/default. asp.
The parenting time worksheet includes holidays and gives you room to work out which parent the child will spend major holidays with. You’ll likely want to consider other special days as well, such as your birthday, the other parent’s birthday, and the child’s birthday. If the other parent isn’t willing to give you information about their schedule and financing, you probably won’t be able to negotiate a custody agreement. Instead, you’ll have to go ahead and file a custody lawsuit and use the court to force them to release the information.
If you are in the process of divorcing the child’s other parent, keep in mind that you are divorcing them, not the child. When discussing parenting time and child support, try to set your emotions aside and consider what would be best for your child. If you aren’t able to do that (or if the other parent isn’t able to do that), you might not be able to come to an agreement on your own.
Judges often require parents who can’t agree on custody issues to try mediation anyway, so it doesn’t hurt to try it on your own. The clerk of the court where you plan to file for child custody will have a list of approved mediators you can try. If you have a low income and are worried about cost, ask about mediators who volunteer their time or have a sliding-fee scale based on income.
You’ll still have to file a lawsuit for divorce or parentage. However, the process will go a lot more smoothly if you already have an agreement on custody and child support. The judge will presume that your agreement is in the best interests of the child.
To find your court, go to http://www. kscourts. org/districts/ and click on your county on the map or choose your county’s name from the drop-down menu. You have to live in the state of Kansas for at least 60 days before you can file a petition for divorce. It doesn’t matter what state you were married in.
Choose a parentage action if you gave birth to the child and paternity has not yet been established. If you were married to the other parent when the child was born, your spouse is presumed to be the child’s parent. Use a protection order if you feel that the other parent is a danger to the safety of you and your child.
Keep in mind that you’ll have to prove each of the things you say on your forms. As you fill out the forms, gather documents that support each of your statements or start a list of documents that you’ll need to get if you don’t have them in your possession.
The notary doesn’t review your forms or check them for completeness or accuracy. Their only role is to confirm that you are signing the documents and that you are doing so voluntarily.
Ask the clerk what you need to do next. They can answer questions about the process. However, they can’t give you legal advice. If you want to talk to a lawyer and are worried about the cost, the clerk can point you toward free and reduced-cost legal resources.
If you can’t afford the filing fee because you have a low income, fill out an application for a fee waiver. On the application, you’ll have to provide details about your finances and any government benefits you’re currently receiving (such as TANF or food stamps). If you’re planning on applying for a fee waiver, bring financial documents with you, such as pay stubs or benefit letters, that will prove the information you provide on the application.
If you qualified for a fee waiver, a sheriff’s deputy will serve the papers on the other parent free of charge. Once service is complete, the sheriff’s deputy will fill out a proof of service form and send it to you. File this form with the clerk of court.
Read the other parent’s answer carefully, particularly if they’ve denied any of the allegations in your petition. If the other parent has hired a lawyer and is contesting your petition, you should hire a lawyer as well. If the other parent doesn’t respond or if they indicate they’re not going to contest your petition, contact the clerk to schedule your hearing. Uncontested hearings are generally brief. The judge will ask you a few questions and then issue an order based on your petition. The other parent does not have to attend.
The Kansas Bar Association has a lawyer referral service you can access by visiting https://www. ksbar. org/page/lrs_public or calling 1-800-928-3111. If you call, ask for the name of lawyers near you who handle domestic relations cases. If you have a low income and are concerned about your ability to pay attorney’s fees, Kansas Legal Services (KLS) can help you find free or low-cost representation. To find the KLS office that serves your county, call 1-800-723-6953 or visit https://www. kansaslegalservices. org/.
If the other parent has already filed a petition, or if they’ve filed a response to your original petition, your attorney will help you draft an answer or response. If there have already been filings in your case, give copies of those documents to your attorney. They may want to file amendments.
Other documents your attorney needs will depend on the details of your case. For example, if health insurance for your child is a contested issue, you’ll need information about the health insurance available for both you and the child’s other parent. Your attorney will also work to get documents from the child’s other parent. As part of your custody case, you and your attorney have the right to any documents that are related to a contested issue, such as financial and employment documents from the other parent.
Most child custody cases don’t involve extensive depositions, and likely won’t involve depositions of anyone other than you or the other parent. However, in some cases, your attorney may want to depose other family members, your child’s teacher, or other experts, such as child psychologists, counselors, or medical doctors.
For example, if one of the contested issues is the other parent’s relationship with the child, you may bring witnesses who can say that they’ve never seen the other parent around the child. If you or the other parent has made allegations of abuse or neglect, you’re likely to need more witnesses to testify regarding those allegations. In a standard child custody case, however, witnesses typically aren’t called. The other parent may also call witnesses. You (through your attorney) will have the right to ask those witnesses questions at the hearing, just as the other parent will have the opportunity to ask your witnesses questions.
No specific outcome is required from mediation and you won’t be in any sort of trouble if the two of you are unable to come to an agreement. The important thing is to make a reasonable effort to resolve as many of your issues as possible on your own. If the judge orders mediation and you don’t come to an agreement, the mediator will prepare a report for the judge outlining the issues that are still contested. If you do come to an agreement, on the other hand, the mediator will write the agreement up for you and you can present it to the judge for approval.
Pay attention during the hearing, especially when the judge is speaking. If the other parent brings witnesses, you might want to take notes in case they say anything that you want your attorney to ask about. If, at any time, something strikes you as incorrect or you feel uncomfortable, let your attorney know. If the process gets to be too much for you, your attorney can ask the judge to take a break.
