Divorce Proceedings

Divorce is a legal termination of marriage. With changing time, the rate of divorce has seen a leap in most of the countries, especially in the US and UK. Divorce in the United States is ruled under the province of state government and not the federal government. Divorce laws in each state varies from the other in this country. Divorce proceedings involve several steps starting from filing a petition for divorce at the family court of law. The legal process of divorce may also involve settlement of issues regarding alimony, child support and custody, property and asset distribution and debt division, concerning the end of the marriage.

The major reasons cited for divorce in US are early marriages, lack of communication, financial conflict, conflict of opinions, interests and personal preferences. US allows divorce with no-fault and at-fault basis. A divorce may be a contested or an uncontested one. In recent years, do-it yourself, collaborative or mediation process have become quite popular options.

Steps involve in a divorce process

Divorce proceedings are initiated when a married person seeking for divorce procures the right paperwork, inclusive of the petition for divorce. Depending on whether this person is filing individually or jointly, different states have different forms. All essential forms must be filled and filed in the appropriate county court. Some states prescribe some waiting period to begin the divorce proceedings. The following steps are usually followed in US in getting a divorce finalized. However, each State may also include few specific process pertaining to their set laws. The usual steps followed are:

• The "Original Petition for Divorce" is filed with the Family Law Court by one of the spouse.
• If both parties agree on key issues of property and debt division, support and child custody, alimony, the divorce gets finalized without a trial. While, in case the parties can't come to an agreement, the court sets a time for a hearing, usually some time in the future
• After filing of the divorce papers is complete, the court might issue temporary orders that are enforced till the finalization of the divorce. On the Temporary hearing date, the judge will make temporary child custody, support and restraining orders
• The next step is to engage in the discovery process which is an exchange of information of the personal and financial positions. Some of the formal devices used in discovery are as follows:

Document production: Both the spouses make the documents pertaining to the marriage, the divorce, incomes and separate property available to the other spouse

Interrogatories are questions asked to a spouse to know his/her version of various facts and how he/she would support his/her demands

Requests for admission comprises of a process in which a spouse agrees to or refuses certain facts

Depositions are sworn statements. A court reporter makes a transcript of the answers given by a spouse to a lawyer

• After the discovery is completed, the parties and their attorneys will discuss settlement of the case. The parties and their attorneys may attend mediation. If the case is resolved by agreement, one of the attorneys will prepare a Decree of Divorce

• The decree of divorce will be signed by both the parties, followed by the judge. It includes a detailed information on the agreements the couple will settle on issues like child custody and support, alimony and the division of the couple's property, assets and debt

• If the parties do not reach a settlement agreement on all of the issues in the case, a trial will take place. Here, each party will be able to put on witnesses, cross - examine the other side's witnesses and make closing arguments. The judge will hear both sides of the case at trial and will then come to a decision

• After the trial has concluded, the Decree of Divorce will be prepared. This is the document that contains the court's orders. When the Decree of Divorce is signed by the judge, the case is concluded

Opting for help in divorce proceedings

It is possible to file for divorce without the services of a lawyer. However, if the person is not sure which forms are to be filed or the custody of his/her children is in dispute or there are considerable assets to be distributed etc, it is recommended to take help of a lawyer. A mediator or arbitrators may also be appointed to help resolve issues and get proper guidance.

With increasing use of internet, there are various online options to help the divorce process complete with ease. One may find all necessary information regarding laws, rule, forms, contacts of lawyers, lawyer firms, various divorce forums, groups, etc. online to help a person who is considering or going through a divorce. Several post-divorce assistance are also available online.

Divorce proceedings in US is quite complex. Before filing for a divorce, one should be fully aware of their respective state laws. It is to be remembered that one should have a complete understanding of the rules and processes that are being followed. An attorney can help complete a divorce process by following the required legal formalities in view of the rights and interests of both parties.

International Divorce

Couple getting divorce may be staying in two different countries and opting for an international divorce may prove to be the best option for them. Today the world has become a small place; the couple may get married in one country, then stay in another country and finally think about getting divorced when they are staying in some other country. Even though globalization has brought the world together, the divorce laws in every country vary. In the United States, the divorce laws differ in the states as well as in the counties. Hence, when a couple stays in different countries they prefer opting for an international divorce.

When a married couple in the U.S. thinks about getting divorced, they would look for a local divorce lawyer who has thorough understanding about the legal divorce laws in their county. It is essential for the divorcing partners to fulfill the residency requirements and obey the waiting period as per the court orders. For couples staying in different countries, it is difficult to fulfill all the rules related to divorce in any county or state. The people opting for such divorce need to get assistance from law firm that deal with international divorce. Such firms have thorough knowledge about managing such divorces. The team at such firms would first understand the divorce case of their clients then provide correct guidelines after doing adequate amount of research. The lawyers consider the assets of their clients in multiple jurisdictions, residency issues, residency of more than one country or concerns related child custody.

One of the reasons why people opt for international divorces is to safeguard their privacy. The US divorce documents are dispatched to any US resident, if he/she is interested in the information. The documents are a public record. For example, banks may demand these documents. On the other hand, people having an international divorce have some amount of control regarding who is viewing those documents.

Another reason is the duration essential to obtain a divorce. In the US, couples have to wait for several months after which, the judge grants the divorce. Also, the terms of the divorce are decided by the judge. In this scenario, an international divorce is a viable and fast option that does not have the above mentioned drawbacks.

Some of the hurdles in the road of international divorce are as follows:

• If the spouses are presently residing in different nations, it becomes impossible to fulfill residency requirements
• The individuals seeking separation might lack money to travel from one country to another for attending the trial on court dates
• If any individual is a military member, he/she might not get time off work for this sort of travel

The solution to problems akin to the above is an 'offshore divorce.' This is the quickest and easiest method to terminate a marriage. The procedure of this sort of divorce is as follows.

• The person seeking an global divorce must establish contact with a reputable law firm that specializes in this sort of separation
• On the basis of the circumstances of this person, the law firm would suggest a country wherein the divorce would take place. Some of the options are Guam, Hispaniola, the Dominican Republic and Haiti
• The person must discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a divorce in each of the above countries with his/her separation lawyer
• After the person selects a country wherein the divorce would take place, the law firm informs this person of the relevant documents essential for the divorce
• It is the responsibility of the law firm to arrange the court date and hint the person about the following points
  • When the person should arrive in this nation
  • When the person would be divorce
  • The person must reside in this country for what duration
• Depending on the services of the law firm, airfare may or may not be arranged for the person
• The person needs to hire a business service for issues like accommodation, ground transportation and other details. In 2009, these issues were solved for 2,000 to 5,000 USD
• In an offshore separation, only one spouse is required to travel to the nation wherein the divorce hearing would take place

One needs to understand the various aspects related to international divorce before opting for one. It is important to get information about such divorce through various sources. It is vital to understand the pros and cons of such divorce. One can get more information about such divorce from law firms that handle international divorce cases. It is vital that divorcing person discuss their case with the lawyer and understand the international divorce laws before he or she opts for it.

Divorce Child Support

A divorce is a life-changing decision that affects the life of the parents and their children to a large extent. When parents chose to split from each other, the whole family is broken. This decision affects the financial condition of the family also. It is a known fact that members of a broken family have to bear more expenses as compared to members who live together. In the context of a divorce, a divorcing couple has to spend much, and thus they find it difficult to bear all the expenses. If there are children from the marriage, one parent has to pay for the child support. If the partners are not able to decide the amount and method of payments of the support, they have to take the help of court. The state court will take the final decision regarding divorce child support and the parents have to abide by the guidelines accordingly.

Some pertinent points

Every state in the US has chalked its own guidelines related to child support. As a result there are some state-laws variations to these laws. Some of the common factors of this matter are elaborated here:

• Divorcing partners can attempt to make child maintenance an uncontested one. They have to reach to a mutual agreement, and if this agreement is accepted by the court, the partners can act accordingly without any legal hassles. This agreement must be made a part of the Marital Separation Agreement.
• If the parents are unable to reach a consensus , the court will interfere and issue the child support orders.
• The non-custodial parent will be ordered to make a direct payment to the other parent. This payment is made to bear the expenses of the basic necessities of the child.
• The conditions of the child maintenance are subjected to change at certain times. For example, the necessities of the child may change along with the passage of time. During such times, the parents can file a petition in order to make the required changes in the support order.
• When the child reaches maturity, the non-custodial parent need not make the payments anymore. This is also true in case of the death of the child.
• A court having the proper jurisdiction can order this type of support. The court should have personal jurisdiction over the individual who will pay for the maintenance amount.
• If a valid support order is entered, the particular state where the case is fought, will continue to have the power to order child subsidy.

Expenses included in Divorce Child Support

The payment of child subsidy amount should suffice for the following expenses of the children:

• Medication
• Education
• Clothing
• Shelter
• Food

Accordingly, the court dwells on the following issues while deciding this award:

• The custodial parent's earning ability
• The paying capacity of the non-custodial parent
• The child's age: Older children would need more money as compared to infants and young children
• The requirements of the child: A healthy child is in need of less money as compared to a mentally disabled or sickly child.

How to calculate Divorce Child Support

A common method of computing child subsidy is as follows:

• First, the gross monthly income of each parent is found out.
• The following deductions are made to the above value:
  • Child support and spousal support paid to a third-party
  • Medical insurance disbursed to the child
• The value obtained in this way is the adjusted income.
• Each parent's adjusted income is divided by the combined gross income. This will yield the percentages of each parent.
• The guidelines table of the relevant state is referred to and the basic child support amount is found out.
• The following values are added to the above amount:
  • Educational costs
  • Extraordinary medical costs
  • Work related child care costs
• This amount is called the total support obligation.
• The total support obligation is multiplied by the percentages of each parent. The two amounts so obtained are to be disbursed by each parent.
• If the parents share physical custody of the children, a different method has to be used.
• The amount obtained by such calculations is rebuttable.

All the information mentioned above will help you in order to understand the general aspects of your case. 

Divorce in America

 Divorce is a legal term that denotes the end of a marriage. It is also the end of all duties and commitment between partners. The procedure is carried out on the basis of family laws. The laws differ from state to state, according to their specific requirements and preferences. The legal process of separation between two married individuals in America has many aspects such as social, economical and cultural issues. Following is a brief analysis about divorce in America.

The Causes of Divorce in America

The process can be taken on various grounds as per the Federal law of the country. There are number of causes that are explained in the family law. Some of them are as follows:

• Infidelity of the partner: This is one of the common reasons to get separated from a spouse. If a partner is having intimate relationships outside marriage, it is considered to be adultery conducted by that person.
• Mental harassment and physical violence: Any kind of violence, whether it is physical or emotional, is considered as a legal cause for dissolution.
• Criminal background of the spouse: If a person has been cornered and arrested by law for a felony or any serious crime, the other spouse can opt for the legal process for ending their marriage under this circumstance.
• Desertion or long-term separation: A person may be willingly staying away from a partner for a long time. In this case the other spouse has the right to apply for dissolution.

Apart from the fault grounds, legal separation may be granted on 'no-fault grounds' as well. That means a person can get separated from a partner on the ground of breakdown of marriage and major differences. A ' no-fault' case can be obtained without proving any partner guilty in the court.

The Types of Divorce in America

Divorce can be of many types. The type of dissolution completely depends on mutual relations between partners, cause for separation and present situations of the family. If partners are on good terms, there are chances of an uncontested case. If the partners are going through major conflicts, then a contested case is inevitable. Following are some kinds of legal processes that a person can opt for:

• Contested case: This type of dissolution involves a lengthy court procedure that is represented by lawyers for both the parties. Important issues like alimony, spousal support, parental support are fought over with the help of attorneys. The court gives a final decision after hearing a case.
• Mutual dissolution or Uncontested case: This is a separation that is taken by mutual agreement between the partners. The separation related matters are solved through discussion and by submitting the agreement in the court.
• Collaborative dissolution: This type of dissolution is carried out on the basis of collaborative laws. There is a four-party discussion over all the problems between couples and the solutions are concluded at the end. These solutions are then submitted in the court to get a final order on marital dissolution.

Some statistics related to Divorce Rate in USA

In America, there were 4.3 million adults who were legally separated till 1970 and this number escalated to 17.4 million by 1994. Another study indicates that in 1970, 3 percent of all individuals, who had completed 18 years, were separated. This number also soared to 9 percent in 1994.

It may be noted that the separation rate in the United States changes depending on the race, amount of income, region and religious beliefs. In 2002, it was observed that the divorce rate for Hispanics was 7.6 percent, for African-Americans it was 11.3 percent and for whites it was 9.8 percent.

The Effect of Economical and Religious Conditions on separation

The possibility of separation on legal basis within 10 years of marriage was more in households, which had a total income of less than 25,000 USD, than the higher income group. The sum of spousal and child support grossed to 40 billion USD in 2002. This amount was disbursed by 7.8 million Americans and out of these, 84 percent payers were male. As far as religious beliefs were concerned, the 'Bible Belt' states demonstrated some of the highest rates in the nation.

Statistics Regarding Children

Regarding children, the following facts concerning split between spouses were obtained after a survey:

• The children who resided with never married mothers exhibited a greater risk of speech defects.
• The children who lived with formerly married mothers had a 50 percent greater likelihood of suffering from asthma during the preceding 12 months.
• The health vulnerability of children of separated parents was 20 to 30 percent more than those residing with both biological parents.

In 2003, 56.2 percent custodial fathers and 43.7 percent custodial mothers were either divorced or separated.

The percentage of children in America that were raised by both biological parents was 63. This is the lowest statistic in the Western World.

Thus, this is a brief introduction to the divorce rate in America.

Divorce Legal Advice

Divorce consists of not only a blend of several emotions but also many legal aspects. It is one of the toughest phases in one's life. As a consequence of these facts, a majority of couples seeking divorce desire that the divorce procedure to terminated quickly. Generally, no fault divorces are granted within a short time. If the spouses do not have any grave claims regarding the shared assets and/or child custody, a quick divorce is possible.

Online Divorce Legal Advice

Nowadays, a number of people utilize online legal advice services. Some websites enable the spouses seeking divorce to do the following.

• Search information
• Ask their divorce queries online
• Download the divorce documents relevant to the specific case and fill in those
• There are free divorce forms, papers and kits on the Internet. These increase the awareness of the viewer

The use of online advice is to save money and time. The divorce process does not become very long and stressful.

Cheap Divorce Legal Advice

This can be accomplished by one of the following methods.

Searching for Cheap Divorce Lawyers online

The person can compare the services and prices of various lawyers. He/She can go through reviews about these lawyers of the past clients. By doing so, the person can decide which divorce lawyers have been successful and do not charge a gigantic fee. In order to begin this process, the person must type 'divorce lawyers' followed by the city name or state name in the search bar.

Legal Aid

If a person does not have the financial resources to hire a lawyer, he/she can approach Legal Aid. This person can also try to locate a lawyer in this program that is ready to perform pro bono work for him/her. This is particularly required when the marriage is turning out to be perilous for the person or the safety of the children is endangered.

Using a Recommendation

It is a good method to ask some friends who have undergone a divorce for some feedback about inexpensive divorce lawyers. It is generally observed that most of people do not think twice before recommending a cheap and good lawyer.

Settling issues between the partners

The partners seeking divorce must realize that they must try for an uncontested divorce as it costs less than a contested divorce. An important divorce legal advice is that the spouses should try to reach an agreement regarding the assets, property and other divorce issues. In such a case, the lawyer would only have to file the essential paperwork and he/she would charge only for this service.

Divorce Custody

A legal procedure, by which a marriage is completely terminated, is known as 'divorce'. It is a legal process that involves many aspects about the marital property and division of family. The couples, who are having minor children at the time of separation, go through the divorce custody issue. It deals with the actual guardianship of the children after the termination of marriage. There are many spouses who opt for a litigation to solve this matter.

Divorce Custody Laws

In the United States, the laws pertaining to this matter are presided over by the individual states rather than the Federal government. Accordingly, all the fifty states and the District of Columbia have drafted their own set of laws. Though the details of guardianship requirements and preferences of the court differ, the basis of all state laws is the same. All fifty states have adopted 'Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act'. This act talks about the legal provisions and requisites for awarding a parenting responsibility to a parent. The utmost priority is given to the 'best interests of the child' according to this law.

The Factors determining Child Custody

It is seen that most parents get engaged in long-term disputes over who gets the legal rights over children. Sometimes, parents do come to a conclusion and form an agreement which states the particulars of child's requirements, monitory obligations and spending time with a child. But, if parents fail to reach to a mutual accession, the court determines the guardianship by taking following factors into consideration:

• The age, health and mental condition of the kids involved in the procedure.
• The relationship shared by each spouse and the child. The quality of such relation and level of understanding and support provided by the partners.
• The physical and mental capability of each parent related to child upbringing.
• The readiness of each parent to accept and nurture good relations of the kid with the other partner.
• Economic resources and future plans of both spouses. The capacity of each one to provide for the educational, medical and other requirements of a child.
• Any history of abusive or violent behavior of any parent. The possibilities of potential danger for the little one in such environment.
• If a child is mature enough to make a preference, then his/her choice related to parenting.

Apart from these factors, the court may order to conduct an investigation by a legal or psychological expert. It is called as 'custody evaluation'. This person is permitted to collect the testimonies of parents, child and other relatives. The judge may look up to such valuation as guidance for awarding a guardianship.

Types of Divorce Custody

The main options in case of child guardianship are sole responsibility and joint plan. Following are some of the important types -

1. Shared parenting plan: If parents are in contact with each other, they may go for this option. This is a joint responsibility of parents. They may have a kid alternatively with them and decide about the upbringing together.
2. Single guardianship: If a parent is found ineligible for handling the whole responsibility is awarded to only one parent. That spouse is completely responsible for nurturing the child.
3. Legal rights: A person may be awarded only the legal guardianship of the kid. It implies that such person is responsible to take decisions about development issues.
4. Physical guardianship: This implies that one of the partners has legal rights over the child, and the other has physical duties. It includes taking care of routinely needs and supervising the development.

Visitation and Divorce Custody

Visitation rights are given to a parent who is not allowed to have physical or legal guardianship. A non-custodial spouse has the permission to visit the child according to the schedule approved by the court. Such schedule can be made out of discussion of parents. Otherwise, the court may determine the timings. A spouse is permitted to spend time with children on holidays, weekends and vacation slots. There are many different types of visitation. Following are few of them:

• Supervised meetings - The parent will be supervised during meetings by a third party who may be related to a family or a part of legal system. Such types of visits are preferred when that spouse is known to have a violent or criminal background.
• Restricted visits - The custodian may request the court to restrict the timings and frequency of visits of another partner if it is affecting the routine of children in a bad manner.
• Normal visitation - If both parents are fit for handling the kids and their upbringing, such type of visitation is possible. The court may permit for night-outs or more time with the children in this case.
• Visitation in alternative turns - If parents are sharing the guardianship, such type of schedule is enforced. In this schedule, a spouse will have turns for meetings, while the other spouse is performing the duties of a custodian.

Divorce Alimony

Divorce brings about untold misery and suffering not merely to the couple involved in the institution of a marriage but to all those who are involved through the institution, that is, especially the children. However the modern distractions are so many that even without thinking twice, in modern times, the partners are willing to call it quits and go for a divorce. A number of reasons have been cited for this recent havoc, the first being the lack of quality on the part of the spouses to devote to each other or for the other issues at home, as a result of which it is seen that many families are torn apart. The second cause has been suggested to be the independent attitude that the women of the modern world don, which makes them literally believe that they are in no way inferior or less than the other sex, and which also has made them ignore the need of the man in their lives. Women, these days feel and know that with all of their financial independence they are in a position to take care of their needs of daily life, as well as look after the requirements of the children, without actually depending on their better halves for any financial assistance, a fact which cannot be denied to some extent. However, what most of the divorcing partners fail to realize is the need of both the parents in the growing years of the children. But once agreed for a divorce, at times it is found that one of the partners is not in a financial position to take care of his or her daily needs of life, and in this case it is mandatory, according to the rules of divorce in most of the states, that the financially independent partner hands over a sum of money in the form of divorce alimony to the other person. Hence, Divorce Alimony is the money disbursed by the higher income spouse to the lower income spouse post divorce. It is also called as "maintenance" or "spousal support" in a few of the states in the United States of America or in a few of the nations throughout the world.

IRC (Internal Revenue Code) 71 has set down several requirements regarding spousal support that must be satisfied. These are as follows.

• If the couple seeking divorce files a joint tax return for a particular year, the spouses cannot claim spousal support for that year.
• If the recipient spouse dies, the payments must be terminated.
• If the spouses are staying in the same residence, spousal support cannot be disbursed. This includes residing in different wings, different bedrooms and separate quarters in the same residence. It is mandatory to live in separate houses having separate roofs.
• The divorce alimony payments must be mentioned in the divorce or written agreement. Thus, if one partner has been paying informal support for the previous few months, he/she cannot claim that he/she has been disbursing spousal support for that period.
• The payments have to be in the form of cash. However, checks or money orders are also accepted. On the other hand debts, property or services are not.

A couple intends to get divorced as they don't wish any ties with each other. However, divorce spousal support can keep the spouses tied with each other for the entire life. It has been observed that although the divorce is amicable, the issue of spousal support ignites the relation.