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Divorce laws are enacted and interpreted by each of the respective states. This means your state and local family law court determines such things as divorce case filing and pleading procedures, spousal and child support payments, custodial rights of parents and the division of community property. Since laws get amended and new ones get made with some frequency, consult with an experienced family lawyer in your county for the most current status of the law. The family lawyer you choose should also be knowledgeable with the local courts and jury sentiment.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS:

To file for a divorce in Rhode Island, the plaintiff must have been a domiciled inhabitant of this state and has resided in this state for a period of one year next before the filing of the complaint. All complaints for divorce and complaints for relief without commencement of divorce proceedings shall be filed in the county in which the plaintiff is residing, unless the complaint is based upon the residence of the defendant, in which case the complaint shall be filed in Providence County or in the county in which the defendant resides.

GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE:

Irreconcilable differences: A divorce from the bonds of matrimony may be granted on the grounds of irreconcilable differences, which have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage.

Fault Grounds: Divorces from the bond of marriage shall also be decreed for the following causes:

1. Impotency;

2. Adultery;

3. Extreme cruelty;

4. Willful desertion for five (5) years of either of the parties, or for willful desertion for a shorter period of time in the discretion of the court;

5. Continued drunkenness;

6. The habitual, excessive, and intemperate use of opium, morphine, or chloral;

7. Neglect and refusal, for the period of at least one year next before the filing of the petition, on the part of the husband to provide necessaries for the subsistence of his wife, the husband being of sufficient ability; and

8. Any other gross misbehavior and wickedness, in either of the parties, repugnant to and in violation of the marriage covenant. [Based on Rhode Island Domestic Relations Law - Title 15 , Section 15-5-2, and 15-5-3]

LEGAL SEPARATION: Divorces from bed, board, and future cohabitation, until the parties are reconciled, may be granted for the same grounds as divorce, and for other causes which may seem to require a divorce from bed and board; provided, the petitioner is a domiciled inhabitant of this state and has resided in this state for a length of time that, to the court in its discretion, seems to warrant the exercise of the powers in this section conferred. In case of a divorce from bed, board, the court may assign separate maintenance out of the estate or property of the husband or wife, in a manner and of an amount as it may think necessary or proper. [Based on Rhode Island Domestic Relations Law - Title 15 , Section 15-5-9]

MEDIATION OR COUNSELING REQUIREMENTS: The family court may direct the parties to participate in mediation in an effort to resolve their differences as to issues of custody and visitation. [Based on Rhode Island Domestic Relations Law - Title 15 , Section 15-5-29]

PROPERTY DISTRIBUTION: Rhode Island is an equitable distribution state, meaning that property will be distributed equitably, not necessarily equally. In determining the nature and value of the property, if any, to be assigned, the court shall consider the following:

1. The length of the marriage;

2. The conduct of the parties during the marriage;

3. The contribution of each of the parties during the marriage in the acquisition, preservation, or appreciation in value of their respective estates;

4. The contribution and services of either party as a homemaker;

5. The health and age of the parties;

6. The amount and sources of income of each of the parties;

7. The occupation and employability of each of the parties;

8. The opportunity of each party for future acquisition of capital assets and income;

9. The contribution by one party to the education, training, licensure, business, or increased earning power of the other;

10. The need of the custodial parent to occupy or own the marital residence and to use or own its household effects taking into account the best interests of the children of the marriage;

11. Either party's wasteful dissipation of assets or any transfer or encumbrance of assets made in contemplation of divorce without fair consideration; and

12. Any factor that the court shall expressly find to be just and proper.

Property held by a party prior to the marriage, or property acquired by gift or inheritance before, during, or after the term of the marriage shall be considered separate property, and not subject to division. Any appreciation of value from the date of the marriage of property or an interest in property which was held in the name of one party prior to the marriage which increased in value as a result of the efforts of either spouse during the marriage may be subject to division. [Based on Rhode Island Domestic Relations Law - Title 15 , Section 15-5-16.1]

ALIMONY / MAINTENANCE / SPOUSAL SUPPORT: Alimony may be awarded to either party. Alimony is designed to provide support for a spouse for a reasonable length of time to enable the recipient to become financially independent and self-sufficient. However, the court may award alimony for an indefinite period of time when it is appropriate in the discretion of the court. In determining the amount of alimony, the court shall consider:

* The length of the marriage;

* The conduct of the parties during the marriage;

* The health, age, station, occupation, amount and source of income, vocational skills, and employability of the parties; and

* The state and the liabilities and needs of each of the parties.

* The extent to which a party was absent from employment while fulfilling homemaking responsibilities, and the extent to which any education, skills, or experience of that party have become outmoded and his or her earning capacity diminished;

* The time and expense required for the supported spouse to acquire the appropriate education or training to develop marketable skills and find appropriate employment;

* The probability, given a party's age and skills, of completing education or training and becoming self-supporting;

* The standard of living during the marriage;

* The opportunity of either party for future acquisition of capital assets and income;

* The ability to pay of the supporting spouse, taking into account the supporting spouse's earning capacity, earned and unearned income, assets, debts, and standard of living;

* Any other factor, which the court expressly finds to be just, and proper. [Based on Rhode Island Domestic Relations Law - Title 15 , Section 15-5-16]

SPOUSE'S NAME: Any woman, to whom a divorce from the bond of marriage is decreed, shall, upon request, be authorized by the decree to change her name, notwithstanding that there may be children born of the marriage, and subject to the same rights and liabilities as if her name had not been changed. [Based on Rhode Island Domestic Relations Law - Title 15 , Section 15-5-17]

CHILD CUSTODY: Failing an agreement between the parents as to the custody of the children, determination will be based on the best interest of the child.

In regulating the custody of the children, the court shall provide for the reasonable right of visitation by the natural parent not having custody of the children except upon the showing of cause as to why the right should not be granted. The court shall mandate compliance with its orders by both the custodial parent and the children. In the event of noncompliance, the non-custodial parent may file a motion for contempt in family court. Upon a finding by the court that its order for visitation has not been complied with, the court shall exercise its discretion in providing a remedy, and define the non-custodial parent's visitation in detail. However, if a second finding of noncompliance by the court is made, the court shall consider this to be grounds for a change of custody to the non-custodial parent. [Based on Rhode Island Domestic Relations Law - Title 15 , Section 15-5-19]

CHILD SUPPORT: Rhode Islands bases it's child support on the Income Shares Model. If, after calculating support based upon court established guidelines, the court finds the order would be inequitable to the child or either parent, the court shall order either or both parents pay an amount reasonable or necessary for the child's support after considering all relevant factors including, but not limited to:

1. The financial resources of the child;

2. The financial resources of the custodial parent;

3. The standard of living the child would have enjoyed had the marriage not been dissolved;

4. The physical and emotional condition of the child and his or her educational needs; and

5. The financial resources and needs of the non-custodial parent.

The court may, if in its discretion it deems it necessary or advisable, order child support and education costs for children attending high school at the time of their eighteenth (18th) birthday and for ninety (90) days after graduation, but in no case beyond their nineteenth (19th) birthday. In addition, the court may order child support to continue, in the case of a child with a severe physical or mental impairment, until the twenty-first (21st) birthday of the child.

Any order for child support issued by the family court shall contain a provision requiring either or both parents owing a duty of support to a child to obtain health insurance coverage for the child when coverage is available to the parent or parents through their employment without cost or at a reasonable cost.

Child support orders entered after January 1, 1994 shall be subject to immediate income withholding on the effective date of the order.

PREMARITAL AGREEMENT: Parties to a premarital agreement may contract with respect to:

* The rights and obligations of each of the parties in any of the property of either or both of them whenever and wherever acquired or located;

* The right to buy, sell, use, transfer, exchange, abandon, lease, consume, expend, assign, create a security interest in, mortgage, encumber, dispose of, or otherwise manage and control property;

* The disposition of property upon separation, marital dissolution, death, or the occurrence or nonoccurrence of any other event;

* The modification or elimination of spousal support;

* The making of a will, trust, or other arrangement to carry out the provisions of the agreement;

* The ownership rights in and disposition of the death benefit from a life insurance policy;

* The choice of law governing the construction of the agreement; and

* Any other matter, including their personal rights and obligations, which are not in violation of public policy or a statute imposing a criminal penalty.

* The right of a child to support may not be adversely affected by a premarital agreement.

HOW TO ENFORCE CHILD SUPPORT IN RHODE ISLAND – THE FEDERAL OPTION

Federal Options Enforcement (CSE) Program is a federal/state/local effort to locate parents, their employers, and/or their assets; establish paternity if necessary; and establish and enforce child support orders. The federal role is to provide funding, issue policies, ensure that federal requirements are met, and interact with other federal agencies that help support the CSE program.

How and where do I apply?

In most states, CSE offices are listed under the human services agency in the local government section of the telephone directory. If there is not a separate listing, the human services agency information operator should be able to give you the number. State CSE agencies are listed at the end of this brochure; they also can provide telephone numbers for local offices.

Call your Child Support Enforcement office to learn how to apply for enforcement services and what documents (birth certificates, financial statements, etc.) you should provide.

What are the steps to collecting support?

The first step, if a child was born out of wedlock, is to establish paternity - or make a legal determination of who fathered the child. Many men will voluntarily acknowledge paternity. Either parent can request a blood test in contested paternity cases. Your caseworker will help you to establish paternity for your child.

Establishing the obligation is the next step. The fair amount of child support that the non-custodial parent should pay is determined according to state guidelines. Your CSE office will be able to tell you how support award amounts are set in your state. Your CSE office can also request medical support for your child.

The last step is enforcement of the child support order. The CSE office can help with collecting the money due no matter where the non-custodial parent lives.

At any of these steps, the CSE office may need to know where the non-custodial parent is living or where he/she is working. When a parent has disappeared, it is usually possible for the CSE office to find him/her with the help of state agencies, such as the Department of Motor Vehicles, or the Federal Parent Locator Service. Your caseworker can tell you what information is needed to find an absent parent or his/her employer.

The most successful way to collect child support is by direct withholding from the obligated parent's paycheck. Most child support orders require the employer to withhold the money that is ordered for child support and send it to the CSE office. Your Child Support Enforcement office can tell you about this procedure.

Federal and State Income Tax refunds may be withheld to collect unpaid child support. States also have laws, which allow them to use: liens on real and personal property; orders to withhold and deliver property; or seizure and sale of property with the proceeds applied to the support debt. Many states routinely report child support debts to credit bureaus and smart parents are bringing their payments current so that their credit won't be affected.

For More Information write for the 2008 Handbook on Child Support Enforcement by contacting:

ACF OCSE National Reference Center

370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W.

4th Floor Washington, DC 20447

(202) 401-9383

IS A LAWYER NECESSARY FOR MY CASE?

If the marriage was less then a year, you have no children, if there is no real estate, and if a marital settlement has been reached, the spouses may and should consider a fast and simplified divorce solution.

No person seeking a divorce is actually required by law to use an attorney. If a person does plan to represent themselves (not recommended) during the proceedings, they should not expect the court clerks, bailiff and/or judge to assist them or provide legal advice in any way. Most spouses do however, at least at some point, consult with an attorney before proceeding with doing the divorce themselves.

Under most circumstances, a lawyer is ethically prohibited from representing both parties in a case. This is called a legal conflict of interest. Lawyers should only represent one party. Notwithstanding, in practice many people choose to have just one lawyer handle most of the paperwork such as the legal documents, including a separation agreement. In this situation, you must keep in mind that the lawyer who drafted the documents should and usually is only be representing one party. In some states, they follow a collaborative divorce process in which the mediator/lawyer works with both parties to achieve one common goal: to reach agreement on settlement of the issues and to have that agreement reduced to a writing and then into a court order.

Most lawyers do not charge a flat fee for a divorce unless the divorce is very simple, and both parties have agreed to the division of property and custodial issues at the outset. Instead, a lawyer will usually request a cash retainer from the client, not unlike a security deposit and charge for the lawyer’s time as the case moves forward. The amount of lawyer fees is one very important factor to consider. However you should also take into account the attorney’s legal experience and the complexity of the case. Lawyers are prohibited from charging a contingent fee for a divorce. Once a fee arrangement has been made, the lawyer is in most cases must prepare a written contract reflecting the agreement if full.

If there is a great disparity of income with regards to payment of the attorney fees, a judge may determine that one person should pay for the other person’s attorney fees. Most often however, a judge determines that each party has the ability and should to pay his or her own fees.

CHOOSING THE RIGHT FAMILY LAWYER

If you have chosen to go with a lawyer you have a very important choice to make.

You could think of the process of choosing a lawyer like any other significant purchase. The same kind of careful consideration you put into a major purchase is not unlike the kinds of considerations you need to make when you are looking for the right divorce and family lawyer.

Before you start, you’ll need to choose what qualities you want in your family lawyer. There are a number of qualities that you should expect your lawyer to have. These basic qualities include:

Good standing with their state bar: In other words, the bar association which licenses the attorneys in your state considers this lawyer is fit to practice law.

No disciplinary sanctions: A disciplinary sanction is an action taken against a lawyer by the state agency that regulates lawyers. If a lawyer has a sanction, be sure to investigate, taking into account the severity of the sanction and how long ago it occurred. A sanction can be a minor reprimand, or it can be a very serious punishment like suspension or disbarment from practicing law.

Experience with cases like yours: Most lawyers concentrate in a few areas of the law such as adoption and mediation. Once you know what these areas are, it’s easier to find lawyers with the experience and skills that are relevant to your situation.

Good communication skills: Regardless of your family law case issues, you want someone who keeps you informed and stays in touch, every step of the way. Legal matters can be confusing and your attorney is your advocate and guide. Don’t settle for anything less.

Once you’ve covered the basics, you may think of other qualities you’d like your lawyer to have. A few questions to consider:

Is this lawyer’s office convenient to your home or office?

How much does the lawyer charge?

GET CURRENT WITH THE 2008 FAMILY LAW CODE OF RHODE ISLAND:
http://www.rilin.state.ri.us/Statutes/TITLE15/INDEX.HTM