𝙵𝙰𝙻𝙻𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝙼𝚈 𝙻𝙰𝚆𝚈𝙴𝚁

Chapter 27

"Alright," M/n said as he took one last glance over his notes. "I've gone over the rights and responsibilities you have when it comes to filing for divorce. Although you already said you wished to move forward with this, I am required to ask for your confirmation again."

"I wish to proceed with filing for a divorce," Levi confirmed.

The (h/c)-haired man opened one of his drawers, pulled a form out of one of the folders, and placed it in front of Levi. "I will go over this with you so that you understand every step of the process. It's very easy to feel stressed and nervous when faced with so many questions and steps."

Levi nodded, a ghost of a smile crossing his face. "Thank you. I appreciate it."

[Note: I'm not sure how accurate this is, as much as I've done some research on it. Having a lawyer friend would come in clutch rn, but for now, I'll just go off of what I've read and improvise on things I'm not sure about-- That means I'll probably just bs my way through it]

M/n returned his nod and got to explaining to Levi what he can expect to happen. "The form I have right here is a divorce petition. It's the first step you have to take in order to ask the court to terminate your marriage."

"What does it entail, Mr. L/n?" Levi's mother asked.

"Well," M/n said, looking between the two of them as he explained. "In order for this form to be valid, the court asks that you provide a statement that you meet the residency requirements."

"And how do we get this statement?"

"There's a form online that can be filled out. I'll need a printed copy of that, so that can be done today in the office if you'd like."

"Yes, please," Mrs. Ackerman said. "That would be very helpful."

M/n nodded. "Alright. We'll get started on that shortly then. The other thing this form requires is a legal reason for divorce. In this case, it'll go down as an at-fault divorce, meaning you're asking to file on the grounds that you were mentally and physically abused by your spouse."

The two nodded their heads in understanding. "The last thing they want to know is if there are any children. In this case, the answer is yes. So, just to make sure, have I got everything correct? Anything you'd like to add, or any questions at all?"

"Yes, everything's good," Levi answered. "This divorce file... It doesn't require R/n's consent, does it?"

M/n shook his head. "Not at all. As long as any one spouse wants to file, they can. Of course, it's ultimately the decision of both parties whether or not the consent is mutual. In this case, however, there are charges being placed on the opposing party, so there should be no issues getting this through with solely your consent."

Levi let out a sigh of relief. "Right then, let's get started on filling out the residency form," the (h/c)-ette said as he pulled up the form on his computer.

He then moved the screen towards Levi and pushed the keyboard and mouse over to him. "Feel free to ask questions if you get stuck on a question."

As Levi began filling out the form, his mother turned to M/n. "You have no idea how much we appreciate your help, Mr. L/n. Truly."

M/n smiled softly. "There's no need to thank me. I'm happy to lend you my help."

"I did want to ask, though," she said. "How long will it take before this petition gets to the court?"

"I like to personally deliver the petitions myself," M/n replied. "That way, I can ensure they get to the court faster. With situations like these, it's better to get them filed as early as possible."

Levi's mother was impressed with that answer. She was left in admiration. "Oh, my," she said, smiling brightly at him. "You really are a dependable and respectable young man. How is it that you are still single, Mr. L/n?"

She was met by a hard nudge from her son. "Mom."

"What?" she said. "I'm curious! I mean, people like you are so rare to find these days."

M/n chuckled and shook his head. "There's no special reason. I'm just too busy."

"That's true," she replied. "With how diligent you are, it's no wonder everyone recommends you."

After a bit more rambling from Levi's mother, mostly compliments, Levi was finished filling out the form. M/n then turned everything back towards him and he began the process of printing it out. As he was setting things up, he decided to explain the next step.

"The other thing that I will explain to you are temporary court orders. Essentially, a divorce case can take months before being finalized by a judge, so a temporary court order exists if a spouse needs some form of support for the kids until the divorce is finalized."

The printer behind him soon started making noises, a blank sheet of paper sliding down into the machine. "Is that something you'd be interested in filing for?" he asked, turning his gaze back to them.

Levi shook his head. "No, we'll be fine. I was already pretty dependent on myself to take care of Mikasa. Besides, I have the means, so it's not a problem."

M/n nodded and grabbed the printed form from behind him and placed it in front of Levi. "The residency form looks good. I'll leave writing the legal reason down to you."

He then handed Levi a pen. "I'll have another copy of the residency form and divorce petition made. It serves as Proof of Service, which is required by the court to be sent to the spouse. But, as I've been informed, R/n was detained, so the copy will be sent to his attorney's office."

"Can you tell us a little more about what will happen after the court receives the petition?" Mrs. Ackerman asked.

"Of course," M/n replied. "They'll take a look at the legal reason listed on the form, take into account the children mentioned, and will set up both spouses to negotiate a settlement."

"And what exactly does that include?"

"The court will bring up matters of custody, support, and property division. This wasn't discussed between you two, right?"

Levi shook his head. "No."

"I doubt there will be a call for that considering the crimes R/n is being charged with. The most they'll bring up are matters of support and property division. And even if there is a chance they'll try and negotiate child custody, I will fight for Levi's right to have full custody of Mikasa."

--

Just like that, the day faded out into night. Over the next few days, M/n was slowly making more progress in building up Levi's case. He delved into his work, trying to distract himself from worrying about the situation with Eren. 

Currently, he was organizing all the files and notes he'd taken into their respective files. He needed to be prepared to present specific evidence where it was relevant and organizing everything helped with that.

As he was putting away the notes he'd gathered a few days ago, the phone on his desk rang. His gaze trailed over to it and his eyes widened. Immediately, he put down the papers and reached for the phone.

"This is L/n speaking."

"Mr. L/n," came a woman's voice from the other line. "The investigation into the boy's family has come to a close. There were no close relatives found that had the capability to be his guardian."