My wife have had an amicable split, we’re not fighting over property or money, we both make the same amount of money and have roughly the same amount of debt…We’re new to NC (1 year) and currently separated for 6 months.
What’s the best way to go about this without doling out thousands of dollars? I’m ignorant…but can’t we just file the papers ourselves and show up to a court session?
You’ll need to move into separate residences, then wait for a year living separately, then you may file your paperwork. I do recommend getting a separation agreement drawn up prior to divorce to confirm the property/money division you’ve already agreed to, then have a qualified attorney look it over to make sure that it’s sound and fair. (Remember that anything you sign in an agreement is a private contract between you two, enforceable as such, and non-modifiable except by mutual consensus.)
If there are no property or alimony issues the process can be very simple. You must be living separate and apart for one year and one day before filing for divorce, thereafter the process goes fairly quickly. There is a video on absolute divorce on this website that will give you an overview of the process.