Filing for divorce generally includes (1) filing the necessary paperwork with the appropriate state or county court; (2) paying the filing fee; and (3) having the paperwork properly served on (handed to) your spouse—known as service of process.

This paperwork generally consists of a complaint or petition that includes the names of the spouses, the grounds for the divorce (fault or no-fault), whether there are children involved in the marriage, and whether the spouse is seeking child custody, child support, or spousal support.

A spouse generally may file for divorce in the state and county in which the spouse resides—or in which the other spouse resides. In many states the spouse must have lived in the state or county for a specified period of time before filing for divorce. Laws regarding this residency requirement and where a lawsuit for divorce may be filed vary from state to state and with circumstances in which the spouses share minor children.

Laws regarding the requirements for filing for divorce are usually located in a state’s statutes—often in the family code or domestic relations code.

In Nebraska, the process of filing for divorce involves submitting the necessary legal documents to the district court in the county where either spouse resides. The initial paperwork typically includes a complaint for dissolution of marriage, which outlines the basic information about the marriage, the grounds for divorce (Nebraska allows for no-fault divorce based on irretrievable breakdown of the marriage), and any requests regarding child custody, child support, or alimony. There is also a filing fee that must be paid upon submission of the paperwork. After filing, the documents must be properly served to the other spouse, which is known as 'service of process.' To file for divorce in Nebraska, at least one spouse must have been a resident of the state for at least one year, or the marriage must have been performed in Nebraska and one spouse has resided there since the marriage. If minor children are involved, there may be additional residency considerations to ensure the proper jurisdiction over child custody matters. These requirements and procedures are governed by Nebraska's statutes, specifically within the state's family law codes.