petition for divorce in a timely manner, the court grants the petitioner the divorce along with all his or her demands.

However, a litigation occurs when the respondent contests the divorce or if he or she is disputing the settlement agreement. In a litigation, the two parties negotiate in order to arrive at a mutual agreement. If the two parties cannot agree, the divorce is put on trial and a judge makes the final decision.

When a final settlement is arrived upon or is made, the assigned country judge creates, files, and signs the final divorce decree. This decree creates a public record of the divorce terms.

Information Contained in a Divorce Record

So what information is contained in a divorce record? It includes the following basic information:

• the petitioner and respondent's full legal names

• filing date of the divorce

• place where the petitioner filed the divorce

• date when the divorce was made final

Other information that a divorce record may contain are:

• the petitioner and respondent's respective credit card balance information

• other debt disclosures

• all assets and how those assets are divided

• income tax returns

• calculations and arrangements for spousal support payments and/or child support payments

Usefulness of Divorce Records

In generally, divorce records are public records, and therefore, can be accessed by the public. The exception would be if a court order has rendered the divorce decree sealed.

There are several instances wherein divorce records are useful. Some of the uses for divorce records are:

• verifying if a person is legally divorced

• determining if a person has been married before

• locating a person

• uncovering previous cases of spousal abuse

• discovering history of illegal acts

Today, public records like divorce records are available online and they are accessible with the assistance of a company that specializes in background checking. You can also undertake the search yourself and save money.