How do the Courts Decide Custody?

October 9, 2009 By

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.
3. The interaction and interrelationship of the child with the child’s parent or parents, the child’s siblings, and any other person who may significantly affect the child’s best interest.
4. The child’s adjustment to the child’s home, school, and community.
5. The mental and physical health of all individuals involved.
6. The stability of the child’s home environment.
7. The moral fitness of the child’s parents.
8. The willingness and ability of each parent to facilitate a close and continuous parent-child relationship between the child and the other parent.

Don P. Moyer, 401 461-7800, Moyer Divorce Law

Filed Under: All Family Court, Custody & Placement, Divorce Tagged With:

What Are the Grounds for Divorce?

October 2, 2009 By

The two most common grounds for divorce in Rhode Island are “Irreconcilable Differences” and “Living Separate and Apart for the Space of Three Years”. The other, older, grounds for divorce are as follows:

(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.

If you need a family law lawyer who can help you navigate through these often complex divorce law issues, call Don P. Moyer, 401 461-7800, to get started. Moyer Divorce Law.

Filed Under: All Family Court, Divorce, Fault Issues Tagged With:

What Does the Court Consider When Dividing Assets in Divorce?

October 1, 2009 By

The Family Courts in Rhode Island consider certain factors set out in R.I.G.L. 15-5-16.1 which specifically deals with this question. The factors are as follows:

(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 which the court shall expressly find to be just and proper.

The court will weigh these factors and make its decision.

Don P. Moyer, 401 461-7800, Moyer Divorce Law

Filed Under: All Family Court, Asset & Debt Division, Divorce Tagged With:
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