Essentially, a divorce petition asserts that the petitioner is married, is a Minnesota resident, that there is an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, and that the petitioner would like for the court to dissolve the marriage.
More specifically, the applicable statute (Minn. Stat. Section 518.10) requires the following:
*Petitioner’s name and address and any prior names used, if any.
*Respondent’s name and (if known) address and (if known) any prior names used, if any.
*Date and place of the marriage.
*Petitioner’s (or Respondent’s) residence (or domiciliary status or armed service stationing) in Minnesota for at least 180 days.
*Names and dates of birth of the children of the marriage (i.e., children of the parties born or adopted during the marriage, or born before the marriage)
*Confirming whether or not any proceeding for dissolution, legal separation, or custody is pending in a court in Minnesota or elsewhere.
*The irretrievable breakdown of the marriage relationship.
*Claim for spousal maintenance, child support, child custody, property settlement and attorney’s fees.
*Whether a domestic abuse order for protection is in place that governs either party or a child of the parties.