After 12 years of married life, David Arquette has officially filed for divorce from the actress Courteney Coz Arquette. The actor cited irreconcilable differences as his reason for the split, and says that he will be self-represented in trial. The 40-year-old celebrity filed his petition for divorce in Los Angeles, and is currently travelling overseas. Arquette had a bar-mitzvah at Jerusalem’s Western Wall soon after he filed the petition. The couple are parents to a 7-year-old daughter named CoCo, and are requesting joint custody.

Cox and Arquette met on the set of the 1996 thriller Scream, and married 3 years later. They announced that they were separating in October 2010, but it was not until recently that they determined that they would stay separated for life. One Arquette’s divorce he listed their date of separation as New Year’s Eve 2011. He then signed the divorce documents on March.

The couple wrote a statement after their separation which was distributed to the press. In their announcement, they said that they want to remain best friends and responsible parents for their daughter. They also hope to convey that they still love each other deeply, despite the split. Arquette told the press that their relationship is better now than it ever was when they were together, and that they think that it will strengthen their personal lives to be apart. When Arquette appeared on Dancing with the Stars, Cox was seen in the audience cheering him on.

Sources say that Arquette held onto the documents for months before filing, an action that is pretty typical in a divorce. Often couples want to make sure that they are doing the right thing before they jump in and ask for split. The divorce papers do not detail how the property and assets will be divided, but the two seem bent on an uncontested divorce, which will make things much easier. When a couple agrees that it is time to separate, it is often much simpler to divide all properties and determine alimony, child support, and child custody. Both Courteney and David don’t intend to ask for alimony or child support.

Feuding couples can end up in the court long after the divorce has been officiated for violating visitation or refusing to pay divorce-related financial installments. Often if a couple does not agree on the terms of the divorce or the divorce itself, it can cause serious problems. Parents may try to kidnap their children or avoid signing if they don’t want a part in to proceedings. In the Cox and Arquette divorce, the opposite is true. One source alleges that the couple filed divorce papers within a minute of each other at separate court houses. When asked by TMZ whether she was surprised that Arquette served divorce papers, Cox laughed and responded with a surprised “He did? I didn’t even know!”

Courteney currently has possession of her daughter, and the two were recently seen heading to the set of Good Morning America. If you are considering a divorce from your spouse, try to end on good terms like Cox and Arquette. This will eliminate the emotional and legal conflict both in and out of the court room. Hire a family attorney to help you with the paperwork and decisions that you will need to make when you leave your spouse. In some cases, your spouse may not be able to reconcile with you, and these divorces tend to get messy. In this instance, it is essential that you have a family attorney present to fight for you when it comes to child custody, property division and all sorts of other court conflicts that can stem from a divorce.