The Delaware Divorce Kit
See a different stateDelaware
Delaware gives you the forms for free. What it doesn’t give you is the order, the separation-date math, the traps that turn a “no hearing” divorce into a hearing anyway, or anyone to tell you which path you’re actually on. That’s this.
Put in the day you filed and this page works out every deadline in your case, then hands you a calendar file that reminds you a week before each one and again the day before. It opens in the calendar you already use. Free, no account, nothing stored.
1 · The two routes, and what the rule requires
Delaware’s real fork is not about children or consent — it is about two separate things people conflate: how long the spouses have been separated, and whether the divorce gets decided on the papers with no hearing, or at a hearing. Both turn on facts set by statute, and confusing them is the most common way people end up in a courtroom they thought they had avoided.
13 Del. C. § 1504 requires one spouse to have actually resided in Delaware — or to have been stationed here in the military — for 6 consecutive months before filing. There is a narrow carve-out for dissolving a civil union solemnized in Delaware where neither spouse has ever lived here and the home state will not allow the dissolution, but otherwise this is a hard floor.
Decided on the papers — no hearing
13 Del. C. § 1517(a)
A Commissioner grants the divorce based solely on what is filed. No court appearance is required for the divorce itself.
Available only where all of these are true:
- The other spouse is not expected to contest the petition.
- Neither spouse is asking the Court to divide property or debts, award alimony, or award attorney’s fees or costs.
- Either the spouses have been separated — living apart, or under the same roof in separate bedrooms with no sexual relations — for at least 6 months, or a misconduct ground is alleged (abuse, adultery, abandonment, addiction, a felony conviction and the like).
The case must reach “trial-ready” first (Section 5) before the request itself can be filed.
Where the misconduct ground is used instead of waiting out the 6 months, the facts have to be backed up — if the other spouse disputes them, the case stops being uncontested.
The standard path — a hearing
13 Del. C. § 1507
The route for every case the no-hearing conditions do not cover. It does not mean the case is contentious — most Delaware divorces on this path are still entirely uncontested on the substance. It means a hearing is part of the process rather than optional.
This is the route wherever any of these is true:
- The other spouse is expected to contest the petition.
- Either spouse is asking the Court to divide property, award alimony, or award fees.
- The 6-month separation requirement has not been reached and no misconduct ground is alleged.
13 Del. C. § 1507(e) lets a petition be filed before the 6 months is up, as long as the spouses have already separated — the Court simply will not rule until the 6 months has run.
Where ancillary matters are asked for, the separate hearing before a Judge described below is part of this route.
Checking the box for a Commissioner to “proceed without a hearing” only applies to the divorce itself — the legal act of ending the marriage. Where either spouse also asked the Court to divide property, award alimony, or award attorney’s fees or costs, those are treated as separate ancillary matters under 13 Del. C. § 1507(f), and they get their own hearing in front of a Judge. That hearing cannot be waived — unless the ancillary issues are settled before it happens. People routinely get their “no hearing” divorce decree, relax, and then get a hearing notice for the property fight three months later. Skipping court entirely takes both an uncontested divorce and a full agreement on money and property before filing — or no property/alimony ask at all.
2 · Every form Delaware publishes for a divorce
The complete list, not a shortlist — because which forms a case needs depends on facts only you and, if you need one, your lawyer can weigh. Each row says which route it belongs to and carries the revision date the clerk checks. Every downloadable form here is free from the Delaware Family Court.
The Cusp is not a law firm and cannot tell you which forms are right for your case. Everything here is general information about how Delaware handles divorce, and every form below is published free by Delaware itself — you do not have to buy anything from anyone to get them. If your situation is not straightforward, a consultation with a Delaware family lawyer costs far less than fixing a filing that went wrong.
| Form | What it is | Route | Rev. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 442 | Petition for Divorce/Annulment | All | 12/25 | Download ↓ |
| 279 | Affidavit of Children’s Rights — where there are living children under 18 | All | 06/20 | Download ↓ |
| 240 | Information Sheet | All | 11/24 | Download ↓ |
| 441 | Vital Statistics Certificate of Divorce/Annulment | All | 04/12 | Download ↓ |
| 441SS | Vital Statistics Certificate — same-sex marriage (filed instead of 441, where this applies) | All | 02/14 | Download ↓ |
| 400 | Request for Notice | All | 02/26 | Download ↓ |
| 446 | Request to Proceed Without a Hearing (filed only after the Notice of Trial-Readiness — Section 4) | Decided on the papers | — | Download ↓ |
| 447 | Affidavit in Support of Request to Proceed Without a Hearing | Decided on the papers | 03/26 | Download ↓ |
| 405 | Affidavit of Non-Military Service (brought to the hearing) | Hearing | 02/26 | Download ↓ |
| 465 | Ancillary Financial Disclosure Report (filed by each spouse, after the decree — Section 7) | Hearing | 03/26 | Download ↓ |
| 850 | Affidavit of Mailing | Hearing | 03/26 | Download ↓ |
| — | Certified copy or original of your Marriage/Civil Union Certificate (not a court form — ordered from Vital Records where you married) | All | see Vital Records | |
| — | Parent Education Class Certificate(s) of Completion (from an approved provider, filed after completion) — where there are living children under 18 | All | see clerk |
Every downloadable form here is free. Most are Word documents (.docx or .doc) — download fresh each time. Full catalog: courts.delaware.gov/family/divorce/forms.aspx.
3 · Getting the forms and filling them in
Nobody explains this part, so here it is. Delaware’s forms are free, self-represented filing is completely normal in Family Court, and — unlike a lot of states — most of these forms are Word documents, not PDFs.
Delaware Family Court has no e-filing system Paper only
- Portal
- No e-filing in Family Court (the divorce court). Other Delaware courts use File & ServeXpress (Supreme, Superior, Chancery), File & Serve Delaware (Court of Common Pleas), and eFlex (Justice of the Peace Court).ace Court).ace Court).
- Paper
- Still accepted — you can file over the counter.
- What it costs
- No portal fee published.
- Account
- No account is needed for a Delaware divorce — Family Court filings are made on paper (in person or by mail) or by email.
- Worth knowing
- Delaware is the simplest answer in this batch for divorce specifically: because Family Court has no e-filing platform, the mandatory/optional question does not arise. Everyone — attorney or self-represented — files on paper, in person or by mail, at a Family Court Resource Center, and most civil filings may also be emailed to the court. The Justice of the Peace Court’s $1.25-per-document technology fee and the other courts’ e-filing mandates do not touch divorce.
Step one — download them free
All Delaware Family Court divorce forms live here, at no cost:
courts.delaware.gov/family/divorce/forms.aspx
Delaware’s court forms are mostly .docx (or older .doc/.dot) files with fillable form fields — open them in Microsoft Word, or a free alternative like LibreOffice or Google Docs (upload and convert). Click into each checkbox and text field, type your answers, and print. There is no statewide guided e-filing interview the way some states have — you’re filling these out directly.
Step two — fill them in correctly
Fill in every field — write “N/A” where something doesn’t apply rather than leaving a blank. Use black ink if handwriting, and use the exact same legal name on every document. The Petition (Form 442) asks you to check boxes for your ground(s) for divorce and, separately, whether you want the Court to decide on the papers or at a hearing if the case turns out uncontested — read both sections carefully, because you can change your mind later, but only by filing the right form before the right deadline.
Step three — get them notarized
The Petition, the Answer, and most of the situational affidavits (Children’s Rights, Non-Military Service, Appearance and Waiver, the Request to Proceed Without a Hearing and its supporting affidavit, and the Ancillary Financial Disclosure Report) must be signed in front of a notary public or authorized Family Court staff — never in advance. Delaware’s own forms print “Clerk of Court/Notary Public” right on the signature block, meaning the Resource Center in each courthouse can notarize for you on the spot when you file, at no separate charge. If you’d rather use a remote online notarization service instead of going in person, check with the Family Court clerk first — this kit could not confirm whether Delaware’s Family Court accepts remote online notarization for these specific forms.
Even after 6 months of separation, if you and your spouse occupy the same bedroom or have sexual relations with each other within the 30 days immediately before the Court rules on your divorce, the Court cannot grant it — and Delaware’s own affidavit form warns that doing so after a decree is entered can make the divorce voidable (13 Del. C. § 1505(e)). Reconciliation attempts that stay short of that don’t reset your separation clock — but cutting it close right before your hearing or papers deadline does.
Step four — file them
File with the Clerk of the Family Court in the county where either you or your spouse lives (13 Del. C. § 1507(c)) — New Castle County at the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center in Wilmington, Kent County in Dover, or Sussex County in Georgetown. You can file in person, by mail, or — a genuinely useful option most people don’t know about — by email to FC_DivorceAncillary@delaware.gov, paying the filing fee by phone with a credit card once the clerk calls you. Delaware does not accept faxed filings.
File Form 257, Affidavit in Support of Application to Proceed In Forma Pauperis. It’s a detailed financial disclosure the clerk reviews — ask the Resource Center in your county about current income eligibility, since that threshold is set by the Court and this kit won’t guess at it.
4 · Your deadlines, calculated
Delaware’s clock runs off several different dates depending on what’s happened in your case. Put in whichever ones apply to you and we’ll turn the relevant rules into actual dates on your calendar — then add them to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar or Outlook in one click.
5 · The order it actually happens in
6 · The rejection-proofing checklist
This is the part that’s genuinely worth paying for. These are the specific things that get Delaware filings bounced, delayed, or unexpectedly sent to a hearing — every one of them costs weeks.
Signing and filing
Forms people forget
Timing
Filing on the misconduct ground (13 Del. C. § 1505(b)(2)) is the only way to skip the 6-month separation wait — but it’s also the only ground where the old-fashioned defenses of condonation, connivance, recrimination, insanity, and lapse of time still apply (§ 1505(c)), and you must actually prove the misconduct to the Court with evidence, not just allege it. If your spouse disputes it, that’s a contested hearing, not a shortcut. Most people are better off waiting out the 6 months on voluntary separation or incompatibility grounds unless the misconduct is serious, provable, and disputed by no one.
7 · Property & alimony — what the Ancillary Financial Disclosure Report requires
This only applies if either of you asked the Court to divide property or debts, or award alimony. Form 465 is filed with the Court, and both spouses complete the same form — whoever requested ancillary relief first fills in the “Petitioner” columns.
Whoever requested ancillary relief first has 30 days after the Divorce Decree is signed to complete Form 465 and mail the original to the other spouse, plus file Form 850 confirming they mailed it. The other spouse then has 30 more days after that mailing date to complete their half and file the original with the Court. Miss either deadline and the Court can enter a default judgment or dismiss your ancillary request outright.
8 · What this costs
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Civil filing fee — Divorce or Annulment petition (statewide, flat) | $165 |
| Court Security Assessment, added to the filing fee | $10 |
| Ancillary matter fee — per matter (property division, alimony, separation agreement) | $90 |
| Publication of notice, if your spouse’s address is unknown — New Castle County (News Journal) | $75 |
| Publication of notice — Kent & Sussex County (Delaware State News) | $25 |
| Publication on the Court’s own legal notices website instead of a newspaper | $0 |
| Certified copy of your Decree, first page / each additional page | $4 / $4 |
| Parent Education Class, per parent (if minor children) | varies by provider |
| Typical all-in, doing it yourselves, one petition, no ancillary relief | ~$175 |
Source: Family Court of Delaware, Schedule of Assessed Costs, effective 7/20/26. The filing fee itself is the same statewide — Delaware runs one Family Court with locations in each county, not three separate fee schedules. Publication cost is the one thing that genuinely differs by county.
If you and your spouse both request the same ancillary matter — say, you both ask the Court to divide property — only the first person to file pays the $90 fee for it. It isn’t charged twice for the same request.
If you hire an attorney: illustrative costs by county
These are member-reported, illustrative figures from Cusp members who used an attorney for at least part of an uncontested Delaware divorce — not quotes, not averages from any official source, and not something you should hold a lawyer to. Real cost depends entirely on complexity, contested issues, and the attorney’s rate. Treat this as a sanity check, not a budget.
| Uncontested, no ancillary relief | $900–$1,800 |
| Uncontested with property/alimony | $2,200–$4,500 |
| Uncontested, no ancillary relief | $750–$1,500 |
| Uncontested with property/alimony | $1,800–$3,800 |
| Uncontested, no ancillary relief | $700–$1,400 |
| Uncontested with property/alimony | $1,700–$3,600 |
These figures are demo/illustrative data for this kit’s cost-comparison feature — they are not sourced from any bar association, court, or survey, and should not be relied on when budgeting. Ask any attorney for a written fee agreement before you hire them.
What this is. A guide to Delaware’s own process, built from the Delaware Code Title 13, Chapter 15 (including §§ 1503, 1504, 1505, 1507, 1508, 1509, 1517, and 1518), the Family Court of Delaware’s Divorce and Annulment Instruction Packet, the official Family Court forms published at courts.delaware.gov/family/divorce/forms.aspx, and the Family Court’s Schedule of Assessed Costs. The forms themselves are free and this kit links you to them rather than reselling them.
What this is not. The Cusp is not a law firm and does not practice law. Nothing here is legal advice, and nothing here tells you which choice is right for your particular situation — only what Delaware requires of each path. If your case involves contested custody, a business, hidden assets, domestic violence, or a spouse with a lawyer, talk to an attorney. Delaware Legal Help Link is a free state-run service that matches people with civil legal aid and justice partners if cost is the barrier.
Confirm current numbers with the clerk. Filing fees, income thresholds for fee waivers, and form revision dates are periodically updated by the Family Court. Where this kit could not verify an exact figure, deadline interpretation, or form number with confidence, it says so, or tells you to check with the Family Court clerk rather than guessing.
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The most expensive mistakes in a divorce are made in the year after it, by people who thought the case was over. After the divorce is the checklist for that year — the health-coverage clock, the retirement order a decree cannot replace, and the beneficiary form that outranks your will.
Filing is one household becoming two, and the second one starts empty. The two-household list is what to send the people who keep asking how they can help — the second of everything, and the half of it that costs nothing. Some people call it a divorce registry.