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Divorce Help - Legal Terminology Explained
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By: XSTILLA.COM
With the myriad of legal terms, the documents to have notarized and filed with the courts, the decisions of dividing assets, how to handle child custody issues, and how to divide debts, it's no wonder the mere thought of divorce is often enough to give one a throbbing headache. Well, consider this article your headache medicine. In this article, we’ll provide you with divorce help by explaining the legal terminology that you’ll likely encounter during the process.
Divorce Help about Types of Divorce
First of all, you must understand that there are different types of divorces. They are limited, no-fault, and simplified divorce.
Limited Divorce: Not legal in every state, a limited divorce is very similar to a legal separation where financial or custody issues must be resolved and requires that the spouses live separate from one another. Once property is divided and all stipulations are settled, the divorce may then become final.
No-Fault Divorce: Before the no-fault divorce laws were first passed in the 1970s, one spouse had to prove there were reasonable grounds, or "fault," for the divorce before it could be granted. Irreconcilable differences or simply incompatibility may be reason enough for a no-fault divorce.
Simplified Divorce: A simplified divorce is a no-fault divorce that's not being contested by either spouse, and doesn't involve children or marital assets. Usually the quickest of all types of divorces, a simplified divorce may be granted in as little as 30 days from the time of filing the papers.
Uncontested Divorce: An uncontested divorce involves two spouses who have amicably agreed to divorce, divided their property, and have come to an agreement regarding child custody if necessary. A word of warning about an uncontested divorce, before you plan on signing any papers, be certain you won't be signing away your rights to something you weren't even aware of, such as the division of pension benefits or investment earnings.
Division of Assets
Know that you understand that, we’ll now discuss division of assets.
The term "marital estate" refers to both the debts and the assets that were acquired together during the course of the marriage. Legally, a marriage is looked upon as a partnership where both parties have equal rights and responsibilities. A couple's assets must be divided into categories of either marital or non-marital property with each asset being appraised or having a valued assigned.
Non-marital assets, such as those acquired before the beginning of the marriage, inheritances, money awarded through personal injury settlements, as well as anything included in a prenuptial agreement may be excluded from the marital estate, which simply means, they aren't going to be divided evenly amongst the two parties.
Marital Property
Although property disputes occur every day in the court system, that doesn't mean they're looked upon favorably regarding property such as household furnishings, or other trivial items.
Depending on the state you live in, the court will say if your marital property is considered community property, or an equitable distribution, the more common of the two. An equitable distribution will take into consideration extenuating factors such as each spouse's respective financial situation, as well as the length of the marriage and the standard of living that was established.
Very few states still have community property laws and include Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin to be exact. In these states, all of the property acquired by the couple during the marriage divided 50/50, distributing it all evenly without taking into account either spouse's income or other similar factors.
Child Custody Issues
Next, we’ll discuss child custody issues. There are three types of child custody – joint, physical and sole custody.
- Joint Custody: Custody is awarded equally to both parents with joint custody and may be considered either joint legal or joint physical custody. Much like most laws, child custody laws also vary by state, or may use different terms and jargon to describe similar issues.
- Physical Custody: Physical custody involves the child or children living exclusively with one parent while having visitation with the other. If the children end up spending equal amounts of time with both parents, the court may then rule for joint physical custody between parents.
- Sole Custody: Today, it's rather rare for one parent to be awarded sole legal custody, unless it's been proven that the other parent is unfit for some reason. Sole physical custody is another possibility in which a child lives with one parent, but both are equally responsible for making decisions regarding the care and welfare of the children.
Alimony and Maintenance
Alimony, maintenance, and spousal support all refer to the amount of money one spouse must pay to the other after divorcing. In some cases, spousal support may be combined with child support in what's known as a "family support package," but usually the two are considered to be separate entities.
Maintenance may be temporary, or only for the time of separation while divorce is pending, or it can be both long or short-term, as well as having specific stipulations and conditions.
Up until very recently, it was routine procedure for the man to pay the woman spousal support, however, due to changes in society and women's emergence in the work force, coupled with the shift and balance between roles, it's now not uncommon for the wife to be the one who must pay alimony to her ex-husband.
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JT007
June 12, 2008 at 11:42PM
