The documents most divorces need

Exact names vary by state, but most divorces are built from the same short stack of documents. Here's what each one is, in the order you'll usually meet it:

• Petition / Complaint — the document that opens the case: who you are, when you married and separated, and what you're asking the court to do
• Summons — the official notice to your spouse that a case has started and a response deadline is running
• Financial affidavit / disclosure — a sworn statement of your income, expenses, assets, and debts; most states require both spouses to exchange or file one even in fully agreed cases
• Marital settlement agreement — the contract recording everything you've agreed to: property, debts, support, and the details people forget, like taxes and name restoration
• Parenting plan — custody, the residential schedule, holidays, and decision-making (if you have children)
• Child-support worksheet — your state's guideline calculation on its official form, showing how the support number was reached
• Final judgment / decree — the document the judge actually signs; everything else exists to get this one right

The extras many states add

Depending on where you live and whether you have kids, expect some of these: a case cover sheet, a confidential information form (birth dates and Social Security numbers, kept out of the public file), a UCCJEA declaration listing where the children have lived, an income-withholding order, and a certificate from a required parenting class.

Getting the set right

Two habits prevent most rejected packets. First, build every document from the same facts — the most common self-filing mistake is a parenting plan, worksheet, and agreement that quietly disagree about overnights or amounts. Second, check your court's own checklist before filing; clerks can tell you which forms their court requires, even though they can't fill them out for you.

When the decree is signed, buy a few certified copies from the clerk — banks, the DMV, and the Social Security office will want to see one later.

CaseForward links each state's official forms and helps you prepare the agreement, parenting plan, worksheet, and motions from one set of facts — and your court's free self-help center can look over the finished packet.