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Posted on August 9, 2009 by Jon Arnold | Posted under Divorce
Divorce Law: An Overview
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In a divorce, each spouse has very specific rights set forth by each state. Most states support a no-fault divorce, in which one spouse may divorce the other for the oft-quoted "irreconcilable differences" reason. Every state allows divorce in certain other conditions: infidelity, criminal behavior, any kind of abuse, where abuse includes both physical abuse as well as emotional or mental abuse. Although a divorce is frequently easily obtained, the finer details may not be so clean. A standard no-fault divorce – one in which neither spouse is held liable for the failure of the marriage – when the partners have no children and no property held in common can be completed really quickly. As soon as both have names on a deed or even a car title, children are involved, or one spouse makes significant income during the marriage, this easiness changes. The state in which divorce is initially filed is normally the state whose divorce law will govern the resulting processes. If both spouses file at the identical time in different states, arbitration may be required to determine which state is the proper governing body. Why is this significant? Because in California, partners are supposed to make a 50-50 division of community property, while in Nevada partners have an "equitable division" of property, which is more likely to result in the spouse who made more money taking more with him after the divorce is fiinalized. Only California, Arizona, Idaho, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin have community property division starting with a 50:50 ratio. All other states use equitable distribution laws. Children are the other popular bug in the ointment. In the first half of the twentieth century, the male virtually always got them; after that, the female nearly always got them. Nowadays, it's becoming more average for either the husband or wife to get primary custody of the children. But that varies from state to state, and case to case. If there are children involved in the divorce, and both spouses want to retain primary custody, it is utterly necessary to get a lawyer. Both your hearts and the future of your money are involved in this critical issue. Pensions and 401K's are another area of contention. Military members, up until last year, frequently retained their entire pensions even when the wife had been there for 18 of 20 military years (this policy has since been changed.) In most cases, pensions are divvied up according to a "qualified domestic relations order" (QDRO), and paid out to the two partners after the pension matures by the pension plan administrator. You can expect the identical division rules that applied to your community property to apply to pensions. You can determine where divorce law can get very complex really fast. In cases where your lives are not tightly involved and you are both ok with the divorce, you're generally ok using a quickie no-fault divorce, even one where you complete your own paperwork. In almost any other situation, you really need a lawyer to guide you through the minefield. About The Author: For more insights and additional information about Divorce Law as well as finding a wealth of resources to help you determine if divorce is right and where to turn for help, please visit our web site at http://www.my-divorce-guide.com |
Tags: DIVORCE LAW, DIVORCE LAWYER, DIVORCE ATTORNEY, NO FAULT DIVORCE, DIVORCE RIGHTS
