Your states “Vital Records” office will do a search and tell you when the actual divorce occurred, but will not issue a divorce record. Certified copies of your divorce record or decree are only available from the Clerk of the Superior Court in the county where the divorce was granted. That little fact is worth the time you are investing into reading this article alone.

Information Required When Requesting Your Divorce Records
The person requesting a search for confirmation of a divorce must provide the following information – a signed request and the appropriate fee (see below):

1.    Groom’s full legal name.
2.    Bride’s full legal name.
3.    Date of divorce (month, day, year),
4.    Place of divorce (city, county),
5.    The number of copies requested

Fees
Most states require that payment be received before a record or a service can be provided. Prepayment of the fee is usually due at the time the service is requested and fees are not refundable. You know that the state has to make their money. So make sure that you have all of your information accurate before turning it in.

The fees normally include the search & confirmation of divorce events. In most cases this fee is around $10.00 USD. Multi-year searches or every three years or portion thereof in most cases will cost you an additional $10.00 USD.

Why Would You Need Your Divorce Records
After a divorce many debt collectors will still attempt to place a lean on your assets because of something your ex-spouse has done. In an effort to defend yourself you are going to quickly tell them that you are no longer married to the bum. Then they are going to ask you for proof! This is where most people are lost and normally end up getting their bank accounts drained for something that they had nothing to do with whatsoever.

(Can you tell that I have been through this a time or two?)

If you have your divorce records handy all you have to do is fax it over to the debt collector and problem solved.

As always your comments are always welcomed.