Divorce Overview

Sometimes married couples do not get along and find that they are never going to make the marriage work. That is when divorce comes to mind. A divorce is a legal action between a married couple to terminate their marriage relationship. It is a hard time for all those involved.

Legally, divorce or dissolution of marriage is the ending of a marriage before the death of either spouse. It can be contrasted with an annulment. Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage null and void. Unlike divorce, it is retroactive: an annulled marriage is considered never to have existed. Even so, the effects of marriage may be recognized in annulling unions. The court may order spouse support or alimony, child custody, child support, and distribution of property in the same way as for a divorce.

Divorce is different from legal separation. Legal separation is a possible step towards divorce under the laws of many countries. A couple is legally separated only if they have successfully petitioned a court to recognize their separation; simply living apart is not enough. Legal separation does not automatically lead to divorce. The couple may reconcile, in which case they need do nothing in order to remain married. If they do not reconcile, and wish to divorce after the statutory time period, they must file for divorce explicitly. A period of legal separation may constitute grounds for divorce and some US States require separation before divorce.

Your must first decide what you are aiming for: reconciliation, trial separation, annulment or divorce. Laws vary from State to State, so as a first step, checkout this Cornell site for the specifics in your State. For any legal process, look at residency requirements, minimum separation periods and the divorce procedures that are available in that jurisdiction.

Divorce is an internal part of our culture now and the legal system has largely moved away from establishing blame to systems that accept relationship malfunction and try to get the parties to agree on an equitable way forward. There are major differences in the laws of different States, so it is important to investigate your own situation. If you have a choice of filing in two different States, take time to see which one offers the best route to your final goal.

The 'joint property' established in a marriage is much broader than the current worth of assets and liabilities. Credit history and credit scores relate to joint accounts, education of the first partner financially supported by the other may have totally altered the future potential earnings of the first and time commitments, e.g. caring for an aged relative, undertaken based on the marriage continuing, cannot be considered simply the responsibility of one partner. I have not mentioned the complications resulting from children of the marriage. Thankfully society, parents and the legal system now all recognize the necessity of safeguarding the child's interests and systems are in place to achieve this. Dismantling the results of even a short marriage is a demanding affair!