When contemplating divorce, many spouses put a lot of thought into who should file for divorce. A spouse may believe that he or she gains the legal upper hand by filing for divorce first. This is usually not true. There are, however, several reasons it may be important to one spouse that he or she be the first to file in a divorce case.
If the divorce is not desired by both parties, obviously the one who wants the divorce will be the one who has to file. Also, if you suspect your spouse will hide assets upon learning of the divorce, if you file first you may be able to prevent that from happening. That will be something to discuss with a divorce attorney. You may also be able to be more prepared for the case if you file first.
If you suspect your spouse will begin running up large debts once learning of the divorce, it may be important to you that you file quickly so that the court may be less likely to hold you responsible for those debts. Finally, in some cases a divorce can be filed in more than one jurisdiction. It may be important for you to file so that you can pick the jurisdiction you believe will be more advantageous to you.
No matter who files first, the other person can file a response to the divorce petition, and can even file his or her own divorce petition as well. Both sides of a divorce will have the same opportunity to present his or her case to the court, no matter who files first. The child custody, child support, and alimony awards will not be affected by who files first (except, as mentioned above, if the divorce can be filed in more than one jurisdiction).