Divorce Advice Guide

There are two types of divorce: absolute and limited. An absolute divorce, (also called a “divorce a vinculo matrimonii”) is a judicial termination of a marriage based on marital misconduct or other statutory cause arising after the marriage ceremony. As a result of an absolute divorce, the status of both parties is “single” again. Simply put, an absolute divorce dissolves the marriage. Once a judgment of absolute divorce is entered, the parties are free to remarry. After an absolute divorce, one party can no longer inherit property from the other, and any property owned by them jointly as husband and wife automatically becomes property held in common (each owns one-half).

In addition, the judgment may provide for sole or joint custody of the children, payment of alimony and child support, and the disposition of personal property. The court may also make an equitable distribution of all the parties’ assets, including ordering the sale of jointly held property and the dividing the proceeds.

There are several grounds for an absolute divorce including:

· Adultery

· Desertion

· Voluntary separation

· Two-year separation

· Cruelty of treatment

· Excessively vicious conduct

· Conviction of a crime

· Insanity

Several jurisdictions’ statutes authorize limited divorces, or “divorce a mensa et thoro.” The consequences of limited divorces vary from state to state. Typically, a limited divorce is commonly referred to as a separation decree; the right to cohabitation is terminated but the marriage is undissolved, and the status of the parties is not altered.

To obtain a limited divorce, you must first prove at least one of four grounds including:

· Cruelty of treatment

· Excessively vicious conduct

· Desertion

· Mutual and voluntary separation

· Actual desertion

· Constructive desertion

Also, a spouse may obtain a limited divorce where one spouse engages in cruelty of treatment or excessively vicious conduct toward the other spouse or a minor child of the party who is filing for a limited divorce. A victimized spouse who leaves the marital home because of abuse also has a legal action for a limited divorce on the grounds of constructive desertion, as well as a justifiable defense to an abusing spouse’s claim of desertion.

Many states have enacted what is called no-fault divorce statutes. This is a response to outdated common law divorce that required proof in a court of law by the divorcing party that the divorcee had done one of several enumerated things as sufficient grounds for the divorce. This entailed proving that the spouse had committed adultery or some other unsavory act. No-fault divorce eliminates this potentially embarrassing and undesirable requirement by providing for the dissolution of a marriage on a finding that the relationship is no longer viable. It is hard to tell whether no-fault divorce statutes are the cause or an effect of the rising national divorce rate in America.



By: Lynn Fugaro

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 at 1:36 pm and is filed under Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.