Relationships and marriages go sour for any number of reasons. This is a sad fact of life, and at some point, a separation, a cut, or a divorce becomes the best option for all involved. In some cases, at least from a legal standpoint, getting divorced can be pretty easy, at least relatively speaking, especially if you and your spouse do not have any children and do not own lots of assets.
But it still always involves a lot of paperwork and many rules, along with high-strung emotions, negotiation, and stress. Whether you and your partner agree about how to share parenting responsibilities and divide all your assets or are instead completely in conflict on all issues concerning bringing an end to your marriage, you will still want to know some basics to see your divorce through the right way.
Luckily, this guide is written with exactly that in mind, to give you a basic overview of what you should know about the legal aspects of a divorce, so let’s get into it.
Residency Rules
You are allowed to get married in any state if you follow its marriage license rules, even if you do not live there. On the other hand, the requirements to end a marriage are not quite so relaxed, and you need to meet a state’s residency requirements prior to being able to file for divorce in that state’s courts.
If you have not done so already, get yourself a divorce attorney, who will not only answer any questions you may have, like how much does it cost to modify a divorce decree or how long the whole process might take, but will also defend you in court and see to it that you don’t get taken advantage of, undercut, or the like. An attorney will also be familiar with the local laws and know all about the state’s residency requirements.
For example, in most states, one spouse at least needs to have lived there for a certain amount of time prior to filing for divorce. Generally, this minimum length of time is six months. However, it can also range from 6 weeks to 2 whole years in some scenarios, so there are definitely different situations.
Separation Before Divorce?
One question you may have is whether you and your spouse have to be separated before you can get divorced, and in most states, no, you don’t. However, you will see that some states require a couple to have been “separate and apart” for a set amount of time, either before they file for divorce or before the judge finalizes their divorce.
This least amount of separation time is generally a year, but it can also vary depending on certain factors. For example, Virginia usually requires a one-year separation before a couple can file for a no-fault divorce.
However, this requirement is lowered to 6 months if they have a written separation agreement and do not have any children. Again, the laws or courts vary from place to place, so getting a lawyer who is not only good in court but also well aware of local laws should be a priority for you.
No-Fault Divorce
We can divide the grounds for divorce into two types, “no-fault” and “fault-based.” Every couple has the choice of filing for a “no-fault” divorce, and in some states, that is actually the only option. A no-fault divorce is one where neither one has to claim or prove that it was the actions of their partner that brought about the termination of the marriage.
Rather, they simply declare that the relationship is finished and there is no realistic prospect of reconciliation, so the reason handed over for a no-fault divorce is that there has been an “irretrievable collapse of the marriage” or that the couple has “irreconcilable differences,” and you will find that most couples choose to pursue this type.
No-fault divorces are much less contentious and complicated than fault-based ones, and as you do not have to go into the whole process of proving your spouse did anything wrong, there is generally much less tension and anxiety during the proceedings.
This is especially nice when there are children involved who definitely might be negatively impacted by the whole proceedings, and when neither party has to fight about who was at fault, the whole divorce process moves a little more quickly.
Fault-Based Divorces
If you decide to file for a fault-based divorce, you are going to have to provide evidence that your partner did something that broke the marriage apart, and grounds for this include extreme cruelty, which can be both mental and physical, adultery, and desertion.
This kind of divorce can be extremely nerve-wracking in every sense, contentious and costly, ending in messy, high-strung court processes, doubly so if you have children. They can go on for weeks, months, or even years, become very expensive in the process, and are this constant battle against someone you once carried feelings for.
They can cause genuine mental anguish and scar children for the future, as they are thrust between their parents and forced to choose between one or the other sometimes. As you can probably tell, fault-based divorces are the final option and should only be seriously considered if there is no other reasonable option and you have been hurt and wounded by your spouse to the point where you simply cannot even consider parting ways peacefully.
Alimony and child support also play a role in this, where one spouse makes payments to support the other spouse during or after the divorce, and in the case of child support, the judge will try to evaluate what is best for the child. If one parent is obviously not mentally stable and perhaps abusive or the like, custody of the child or children is going to be given to the other stable parent.
Divorces are never exactly fun at the best of times and can be a traumatizing, emotionally draining experience that leaves scars at the worst. Not only that, but they can also be a veritable maze of laws and legal conundrums, so knowing the basics is key to getting through as smoothly as possible.
