Legal Issues that arise out of divorce
- Custody of children – who gets the kids?
- Division of property – who gets the house?
- Spousal support – which spouse pays which spouse?
- Child support – who pays for the kids?
How to get a divorce.
- There is NO SUCH THING as a contested divorce in most countries. You cannot stop your spouse from divorcing you. You can only delay the inevitable.
There are three ways to prove that a “breakdown of the marriage” has occurred.
- Adultery that has not been condoned.
- Cruelty – physical, mental, or emotional
- Living “separate and apart” for a period of one year.
- Adultery and cruelty will get you a divorce right away. Living “separate and apart” means you have to wait a year.
Adultery
- Only adultery that is not “condoned” will get you a divorce.
- “Condoned” means that you give the spouse permission to do “the deed” with someone else after the fact.
- Any kind of sex act qualifies as “adultery”.
Living “separate and apart”
- If you live apart from your spouse for one year with an intent to end the marriage
- You can be “separate and apart” under one roof. If you..
- Share separate bedrooms
- Lead separate lives
- Don’t have sexual intercourse
- Don’t have the means to live separate and apart for one year
- Are staying in the same house “for the sake of the children”
- Have separate finances……..then you will be considered to be “separate and apart” under one roof.
What do you file?
- One spouse petitioning the court for a divorce (the petitioner) files …
- a petition for divorce stating
- the grounds for the divorce
- the relief the petitioner seeks against the other spouse (the respondent) ie. Child/spousal support, child custody, division of property
- An affidavit (sworn written evidence) that provides evidence to support the grounds for the divorce alleged.
