Divorce Big Picture

In Rhode Island, there are four general categories of issues that are dealt with in a divorce, namely: Children, Division of Marital Estate, Alimony, and Temporary Issues. Understanding these categories will help break down the process, and help you understand where things you think are important fit in.

Children: There are several sub-parts to the children category and they are: Custody, placement, visitation, support, and medical coverage. A primer on what the court Read more…

Divorce posts

Often, when one parent of a child moves out of state and the other remains in state, issues of jurisdiction arise when parents need to use the court system to resolve disputes. These jurisdiction questions increase in importance if the child or children move out of state also.

Jurisdiction determines which states court can hear the case. If a parent from RI moved to Florida, nobody would think its right to file a case in Colorado. Could they file in Florida? It depends.

To solve these issues, each state has adopted their own set of statutes, often referred to as a state’s version of the “Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act” (UCCJA) or “Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act” (PKPA). In Rhode Read more…

Custody & Placement, Interstate Enforcement & Modification posts

In a divorce there are generally four major categories of things to deal with, namely (1) child issues, (2) equitable distribution issues (assigning assets and debt), (3) spousal support (alimony) issues, and (4) “temporary” issues while the divorce is pending, such as who can live where, who can use the car, who pays the bills.

In a divorce from bed and board, aka legal separation, the RI courts can only deal with three of these issues, namely (1) child issues, such as custody, possession, child support, etc., (2) alimony, and (3) “temporary issues.”

So the first major difference is that the courts will not assign assets and debt between the parties. If one party wins the lottery, its still a marital asset. If a party racks up debt, its still marital debt.
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Divorce posts

The DR-6 (a-b) “Statement of Assets Liabilities Income Expenses” is a form that all family court parties are required to fill out and file when filing complaints for divorce. separation, miscellaneous complaints, or when an answer or modification request is filed. After reviewing the DR-6, it can be seen that page one deals with income and assets, and page two deals with liabilities and debt. Most attorneys will provide an additional page (Exhibit A) for extra expenses to be listed. An example of a completed DR-6 can be found here.

The first grouping, gross income and income deductions, is essentially a persons pay stub if they are typical wage earners. Section 1-10 is for a listing of incoming money sources, as in gross income (before taxes), social Read more…

Child Support, Divorce, Modification posts

Here is the situation: You have been separated from your spouse for two years, and have just filed for divorce and your first hearing for child support is a week away. You are living with the love of your life (not your spouse). Your children live with you and are happy. All seems fine. What could go wrong?

Everything. Maybe.

In Rhode Island, most judges, if asked to make a ruling on the issue, will not allow a significant other to be in the presence of minor children during the divorce, never mind overnight, and forget about living together.

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Divorce, Visitation posts

Many states have differing terminology for legal and physical custody. In Rhode Island, legal custody is the ability to have input in major life decisions of the children in question. A person with “sole custody” has sole legal custody, and does not need to include the other parent in the decision making process things like health, education, or religious upbringing issues of the children. Couples who share “joint custody”, or joint legal custody, are required to keep each parent “in the loop” of such issues, and both parents also have the right to access information relating to those issues.

As an example, if the kids are living with dad primarily, and the parties have joint custody, then dad would need to communicate with mom about major issues, such as health, education, or religious affairs. Dad does not need to comply with mom’s wishes: mom does not have a veto ability. Mom simple must be kept in the loop. Mom on Read more…

Custody & Placement posts

Rhode Island has a “track” system for divorces, meaning that a divorce is either on the “Nominal Track” or the “Contested Track.” The party filing the divorce first may choose either track from the beginning. If they choose the nominal track, they will be given an initial (and hopefully last) hearing date that will be approximately 11 week from the date of filing.

If they choose contested, they will get a case status hearing date that will typically be 13 to 16 weeks from the date of filing. If the case is on the nominal track, and the Defendant is not actively disputing and issues, the case Read more…

Divorce posts

The Rhode Island Family Courts base custody and possession decisions on the “best interest of the child.” The pivotal case Pettinato v. Pettinato, 582 A.2d 909 (R.I. 1990) states that certain factors must be weighed in the best interests of the child analysis when relevant. These factors include:

1. The wishes of the child’s parent or parents regarding the child’s custody.
2. The reasonable preference of the child, if the court deems the child to be of sufficient intelligence, understanding, and experience to express a preference.
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Custody & Placement, Divorce posts