Divorce law encompasses many elements, and this article will examine both fault and no-fault grounds for divorce, separations, child custody issues, child support payments and property division.
Fault-based grounds for divorce include adultery and cruelty; this can include physical or emotional abuse as well as abandonment for one year – either real or constructive. Before no-fault divorce became the law, abandonment for an entire year was also an acceptable grounds.
Grounds for Divorce
Most states now recognize what’s known as “no fault divorce”, meaning you can file for a divorce without specifying an specific cause. Some still allow traditional grounds such as adultery and cruelty as grounds for dissolution of marriage.
Adultery is one of the primary grounds for divorce in New York and throughout the U.S. It refers to claims that one partner engaged in sexual acts with someone outside of your marriage – this could include oral, physical and anal activities with individuals other than your partner during the marriage.
Abandonment is another ground for divorce that rests solely on fault: your partner walked out for at least one year with the intent to leave and did not return, taking actions such as locking you out or changing locks and denying access to personal belongings. To prove abandonment as grounds, filing spouse must demonstrate they did not leave because of financial decisions or simply because they couldn’t live together anymore; abandonment cannot be used if both you and your partner signed a separation agreement or judicial decree which specifies living apart.
Cruel Treatment is a fault-based ground for divorce that may be used when specific acts of abuse or cruelty endanger the Plaintiff’s life, health and wellbeing and make cohabiting unsuitable for either partner. Physical, emotional or mental abuse may qualify, as can abusive treatment so severe there is no reasonable expectation of reconciliation – though this type of ground for divorce does not apply if your spouse served three or more years in jail before being released after five years or longer.
Separation
Legal separation provides couples a means of addressing issues like property and child custody without dissolving their marriage. While not always an ideal solution, legal separation may help couples work through issues more quickly while determining if divorce is truly the only answer for them. Furthermore, it allows spouses to retain certain benefits such as health insurance that would otherwise be lost upon divorce.
Legal separation can last as long as both you and your spouse wish, though if it’s to serve as the basis of a future divorce action it should last at least a year. Your document should clearly state the date of separation in order to establish whether any assets acquired during that period become joint or individual property and who bears debt incurred during that period – debts accrued during legal separation are solely responsibility of each partner.
Some couples opt for legal separation instead of divorce due to religious, financial or benefit coverage concerns. When making this decision it is crucial that all applicable insurance providers and financial advisers be notified so any terms and conditions of separation can be fulfilled successfully.
New York offers residents the ability to file for legal separation without necessarily meeting residency requirements, however if they later wish to convert their separation agreement into a divorce decree they must fulfill residency requirements and prove all acts or conduct that formed the basis for it took place within New York state. A separate maintenance order may also become part of your separation agreement that eventually leads to divorce decree payments of either spousal support or child support.
Child Custody
Child custody can be one of the most contentious aspects of divorce proceedings. It involves two aspects: where children will live (physical custody) and who has legal control of making decisions regarding their upbringing. Courts may award joint, sole, or some combination of physical and legal custody arrangements to parents depending on factors like best interests of the children involved, parent cooperation levels and stability needs for an ideal decision-making outcome.
Historically, judges awarded custody to mothers on the assumption that young children benefitted more from being raised by them. Today however, state laws mandate judges base their custody decisions solely on what’s in the best interests of the child – meaning a parent’s gender shouldn’t play into decisions made about custody arrangements and courts won’t normally alter an arrangement without major changes in circumstances occurring first.
Custody arrangements can be decided between parents on their own or with assistance from a family law attorney, and many states offer mediation as a tool to reach an agreeable custody arrangement. Research suggests that when parents work together to decide custody arrangements it tends to have less negative repercussions for the children involved.
Sometimes parents do not abide by their custody agreements. Violations could include being habitually late for pick-ups or keeping the children out of school or moving them out of state/country. When this occurs, a judge must intervene to enforce custody or visitation orders by ordering parenting classes to be completed or even issuing fines against those violating terms of an order.
Child Support
Child Support. When parents’ finances cannot provide for a child’s basic needs (food, shelter and clothing), child support obligations may be established by court decree through child support orders imposed on one or both parents. A basic support obligation usually covers food, shelter and clothing needs but may also cover health care (copays/ premiums/ daycare costs applicable to either parent’s work schedule/ educational costs (excluding private/religious tuition) among other expenses that must be considered mandatory add-on expenses such as these mandatory add-on expenses in addition to covering food/ shelter/clothing needs as determined by Court Order.
Law provides that an obligor must pay child support even if the custodial parent withholds contact with his or her children to punish a noncustodial parent for refusing to pay required amounts of child support. Child support obligations also extend to grandparents and unmarried cohabitants who play an integral role in raising a child.
General, spouses receiving child support must inform the Court about any changes in income that could affect their support obligation, since the Court can modify or suspend it in cases of fraud, misreporting, etc. Additionally, they can place a lien against payor’s property in order to collect outstanding child support or protect the Court’s right to enforce it.
Spousal maintenance and child support should not be confused, as these two issues are distinct issues. Spousal maintenance exists to give an economically independent spouse economic independence following their divorce and should end when that spouse can become self-supporting; typically determined through mathematical calculations but the Court has wide discretion when awarding these amounts.
Property Division
Marriage often results in spouses amassing an array of properties during its course, such as cars, homes, investments and estates. Therefore, property division must be addressed when divorcing couples decide to divorce; depending on whether your state practices equitable distribution or community property law will determine how courts divide assets accordingly.
Equitable Distribution States like New York require judges to assess and divide assets during a divorce with care, taking into account several factors in order to create an equitable division plan. Judges may take into account factors like duration of marriage, contributions by each spouse to asset acquisition and any other relevant factors deemed relevant by the court – though this doesn’t always result in equal division.
Community property states offer more clear rules when it comes to how property is divided during a divorce. Judges must generally adhere to an even distribution when allocating assets and earnings during divorce proceedings; however, there may be more leeway when deciding who keeps certain assets like the family home.
Judges must also allocate debts between spouses when dividing property, with specific debts such as mortgage or car loan debts remaining with that asset, while unrelated ones must be divided equally between both spouses.
As part of any property division agreement, it’s vital that both spouses make an accurate list and valuation of all their assets. If one party attempts to hide assets from another, this may force the court to reconsider your property division settlement agreement and may even lead to criminal sanctions being assessed against both.