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Message: [QUOTE="Nehanda, post: 28231, member: 2262"] Spouses start uncontested divorce when they both agree on everything about ending their marriage. They must share the same view that their relationship has completely broken down. They need matching plans about who keeps the kids and how often the other parent visits them. They should decide together about monthly child support and exactly how they will split up their stuff. You begin divorce by filing papers with the court through a legal process called a summons. The person who files first becomes known as the plaintiff and their spouse becomes the defendant. Your paperwork must include a written statement called a Declaration explaining who you both are and where you live. This statement tells the court when you are married, why the court can hear your case, why you want a divorce, details about your children, custody plans, support amounts, visiting schedules, and property division. The High Court Sheriff must hand deliver your divorce papers directly to your spouse. Personal delivery matters because divorce changes your legal status in important ways. Finding spouses who disappeared requires asking the court for permission to publish notices in newspapers. Serving papers to spouses living outside Zimbabwe demands special permission through a separate request to the court. After delivering the papers, both of you must write and sign an agreement listing everything you have decided together. Your spouse signs a statement giving up their right to fight the divorce or receive future court notices. You then confirm seeing these documents by signing your statement that includes all these papers. The court schedules your case, but neither person needs to appear before the judge. Agreeing beats fighting about divorce matters because you save family money that would otherwise pay lawyers. Your emotional energy stays focused on healing instead of conflict. Future conversations between you remain civil enough to make decisions about your children. Family members beyond just you two benefit from peaceful solutions that avoid courtroom battles where nobody truly wins. [/QUOTE]

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