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WHAT TO EXPECT and HOW TO PREPARE:

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW FOR YOUR FIRST & SECOND SESSIONS

BEFORE YOU ATTEND A WORKS CLINIC SESSION:
 

For most parties, it will take two WORKS CLINIC Sessions to complete the necessary paperwork for a South Dakota Divorce using the UJS forms. Before you begin your first session, you will need to gather the information listed below and review and sign the WORKS CLINIC Disclosure Form which describes what we can and cannot do to assist you. The WORKS CLINIC Disclosure Form will be provided at the meeting, but you can also view it HERE.

Required Information.  Be sure you bring the following to SESSION ONE, SESSION TWO and to any WORKS CLINIC SESSION you attend after that:

  • Your full name, date of birth, full mailing address

  • Your Drivers License or State ID

  • Your spouse's full name, date of birth, full mailing address

  • If attending, your spouse should bring a Drivers License or State ID as well 

  • Date and place of marriage

  • Full names and dates of birth of minor children in your family

  • Paystubs:  Bring last two paystubs for you (and for your spouse, if possible.)

  • Insurance: Write down or bring documentation for health insurance payments and the people they cover. If you have children and cover them on your insurance, you will need to know the difference in cost between an employee only plan and a family plan. 

  • Income: List all income, including any money that you receive on a regular basis.

  • Retirement: List retirement accounts and their current balances for both you and your spouse.

  • Property: List all property owned either separately or together with the estimated values.

  • Assets: List all assets you have either separately or together with the estimated values.

  • Debts: List your monthly bills and the balance of any debts you have separately or together.

  • Vehicles: (cars, boats, ATVs, etc): Bring a list of all of your vehicles. You will need the make, model, year and vin# for all of your vehicles.

  • Real Property: (House or other property): If you own a home please bring the legal description of the home, which you can find on a deed, mortgage or title insurance. 

  • Property Agreement: If you and your spouse have already made an agreement for property distribution, please bring it. You can bring a formal agreement, or just write it out before your first session. 

  • And finally, once you have attended a session and filed your documents with the clerk, please bring all forms and other materials you have from prior WORKS CLINIC Sessions​.

SESSION ONE


During your First WORKS CLINIC Session, we will assist you in filling out the initial forms to file with the Clerk of Courts that will allow you to begin the divorce process. To fill out the forms fully and accurately in SESSION ONE, you must bring the Required Information listed above.​

 

​If your spouse will attend the appointment with you, great! That will generally make the process go faster. It is not required that your spouse attend SESSION ONE, but if he/she/they is able to join, you may be able to complete additional forms which will help you move forward in the process. 

SESSION TWO


When you arrive for the Second WORKS CLINIC Session, please have all of your forms and materials from SESSION ONE and all of the Required Information listed above. Make certain that you also bring along a copy of the papers that you will have filed with the Clerk of Courts. We do not keep a copy of your forms on file, so it is important you keep them in a safe place and bring them with you to every session. 

In SESSION TWO, we'll assist you in completing the next steps in the process. 

MEDIATIONS

When the parties are not able to reach an agreement about some of the issues that must be decided in their divorce, limited mediation is offered through the WORKS CLINIC. These mediation sessions are held by Zoom or in Sioux Falls and Vermillion and conducted by a certified mediator, with law students shadowing the mediator and observing the mediation.

The goal of the WORKS CLINIC mediation is to complete the UJS Stipulation and Settlement Agreement Form, which must be signed by both parties in order to complete the divorce.

 

The WORKS CLINIC can also assist with mediation in custody and parenting-time matters, where a case has already been filed with the court and the parties meet the eligibility requirements of the WORKS CLINIC. In most cases, this type of mediation with the WORKS CLINIC is ordered by the self-represented parties’ assigned judge.

Mediations

UJS FORMS

The WORKS CLINIC assists participants complete divorce forms through interactive video (Zoom) and scheduled in-person WORKS CLINIC sessions.

 

In both the in-person and interactive video meetings, students complete fillable forms on the screen so that the participant can verify the accuracy of the answers as they work through the forms. These forms are viewed by the participant on a monitor in the in-person clinics and via a shared screen while in the interactive video session.

 

Once completed, forms are reviewed by a supervising attorney before being emailed to or printed out for WORKS CLINIC participants. Forms are emailed with instructions as to how to submit the paperwork to the clerk and what to do in subsequent steps of the divorce process.

 

The UJS Checklists for Self-Represented Divorce are also very helpful for walking participants  through the procedural process of a divorce:

 

UJS Forms
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