Chapter 32
Divorce and its Legal
Consequences
Ending a Marriage
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Death
Annulment (never effective)
Legal Separation and Divorce
Grounds for Divorce p. 696
In Illinois:
No Fault
Adultery
Cruelty
Desertion: 1 year
Alcoholism/Drug Addiction: 2 years
Impotency (annulment)
Bigamy
Separation: 2 years
Felony Conviction
No-Fault
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Incompatibility
Irreconcilable Differences
Irretrievable Breakdown
Dissolution (Uniform Marriage and Divorce Act)
California: less 5 years, no children,
less $10,000 = no court
New York: must live apart for 1 year
Adultery

Crime in many states as
well as grounds for
divorce

Proved by opportunity
and inclination/tendency.
Cruelty

Must be actual personal violence that
endangers life or health of spouse. Mental
suffering and threats do count.
Desertion

Unjustified, voluntary
separation
Alcoholism/Drug Addiction

Confirmed, persistent,
voluntary, and excessive
Nonsupport

Must show that the party had the ability to
provide economic support and willfully failed to
do so.
Conviction of a Felony
Domicile and Residency

Domicile: a person’s principal place of abode (home)
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–
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Cannot be abandoned or surrendered until another is
acquired.
Members of the military are presumed to retain the domicile of
their home state unless able to prove otherwise.
Residence: a place where a person actually lives or
resides (may or may not be domicile)
Out of State Divorce

Sometimes people go
out of state or out of the
country for a quick
divorce.
Alimony

An allowance made to a divorced person by his or her
former spouse.

Temporary alimony: waiting for a divorce

Alimony Pendente Lite: alimony pending a lawsuit

Amounts vary and alimony may be denied based on
wealth

Remarriage does not necessarily end alimony but
death does.
Marital Property

Common Law: any property brought into the marriage
remains property of the spouse.

Anything earned, inherited, or received as a gift
remains property of that person who earned it.

Nine Jurisdictions do not follow this ~ known as
community property jurisdiction.
–
Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas,
Washington, and Puerto Rico.
Equitable Distribution Laws

Allow judges to distribute property fairly
between husband and wife regardless of who
has the title.
Custody and Child Support


Common Law: Fathers had right to custody
and expected to support them; no custody, no
support needed.
Today: Most fathers are required to contribute
to support.
Child Support Enforcement Program

Provides for a federal
and state parent locator
service to assist in
obtaining information of
an absent parent.
State Guidelines
p. 704
Determining Welfare of Child
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Wishes of child’s parents
Wishes of child
Relationships of child
Child’s adjustment to home, school, community
Mental and Physical health
Uniform Reciprocal Enforcement of
Support Act

A support of one state
will be enforced in every
state.