Divorce

Divorce is the termination of a marriage. It is a legal proceeding that must take place in a court with a person, known as the petitioner, filing a request for a dissolution of the marriage contract.http://definitions.uslegal.com/d/divorce/ Divorce laws are determined by the individual states so the petitioner must file for divorce in the state in which they live.

Before issuing a divorce decree the judge may wait some time to allow the parties involved to reconcile. When the decree is given out by the judge it is a court order that states the responsibilities of each party. This legal document usually covers things such as the division of assets of the two parties, attorney’s fees, and alimony. Child support and the rights and duties of each parent to the children are also addressed by the judge.

The divorce decree is a legal document that must be followed. One of the parties can inform the court if the other is not following what was outlined in the divorce. The court may hold the offending party in contempt, or in the case of child support, choose the garnish one's wages.http://www.totallawyers.com/life-after-divorce.asp Some states allow various aspects of the divorce decree to be changed if the circumstances of a party change.

The courts of the United States currently recognize two forms of divorce: absolute (or more commonly known as a fault divorce) and limited divorce.http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/divorce http://definitions.uslegal.com/d/divorce/ For an absolute divorce the petitioner must show evidence of misconduct or wrong doing on a spouse’s part. This type of divorce will change the status of both parties back to single. In a limited divorce, more commonly known as a separation decree, the right to live together is rejected but the court does not completely dissolve the marriage. In some states this separation may change to a conversion divorce if the parties have been separated for a an amount of time determined by the court.

Each state is different when it comes to making its divorce laws and there are variations of the two general divorces above. Some states have enacted “no-fault divorces” which do not require the evidence of misconduct .http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/divorce These no-fault divorces may occur if the court finds that: the relationship is no longer viable, irreconcilable differences, conflict of personalities, or that the marriage is irretrievably broken.http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/divorce

There is also what is known as an annulment which treats the marriage as though it never existed. There are several stipulations that must be meant before an annulment can be given and these are determined by the state. Some of these requirements may include: One party was under age, a party was not able to give their voluntary consent, or one of the parties was not able to consummate the marriage and it was not known by the other party.http://www.mncourts.gov/selfhelp/?page=341

• In 2004 the divorce rate in America per capita was .37%.http://www.divorcestatistics.org/
• Massachusetts is the state with the lowest divorce rate of 2.4 per 1000 population.
• Nevada had the highest divorce rate of 9.1 per 1000 population.
• The age group with the highest divorce rate was 20-24 years olds and the lowest age group was 35-39 year olds with older age groups not being supplied.http://www.divorcestatistics.org/
• The divorce rates for couples with children is 40%, those without children 66%/http://www.divorcestatistics.org/
• The statistics for a first marriage ending in divorce is 45-50%, for a second marriage 60-67%, and for a third marriage 70-73%.http://www.divorcestatistics.org/

The content on this page is not a substitute for legal advice. Please contact a law professional before using the information presented here.