Divorce Newsletters

Children as Witnesses in Divorce Proceedings

In recent years, children have increasingly been called upon to be witnesses in their parents' divorce proceedings. In some contested fault-based divorces, children have supplied testimony as to cruelty or adultery by one of the spouses. In other instances, children have been a part of custody matters, including offering testimony as to being poorly supervised by one of their parents and as to any neglectful conditions in the family home.

Divorce involving a member of the U.S. military

Military divorce involves a member of the uniformed services and his or her spouse, who may or may not be in the services. Even though military divorce may be similar to a usual divorce, there are a few differences, such as legal protections, jurisdiction of court, residency requirements for filing for divorce, division of military retirement benefits or pension, and provision for child support. A service member facing a divorce should be aware of the Servicemembers' Civil Relief Act of 2003 and the Uniform Services Former Spouses' Protection Act (USFSPA).

Jurisdiction and Venue in Annulment Proceedings

The parties must establish proper jurisdiction and venue in order to initiate an annulment action. Usually, to obtain the jurisdiction and proper venue, the courts of the state where the parties were married have jurisdiction in an annulment action. In most states, if one of the parties wants to bring an action in a state court, that party must show that one of the parties has been residing in that particular state for the required period. Alternatively, a state has jurisdiction if either party has met that state's residency requirement. Venue is established if the party seeking the annulment of the marriage has met the domicile requirements within the court's jurisdiction.

Property Division in Divorce: Commingling and Tracing

The terms "commingling" and "tracing" are related concepts in the identification and division of property in divorce proceedings. Commingling occurs when a spouse or both spouses treat separate property in such a way that it loses its separate property character. Common ways for that to happen is for a spouse to use his or her separate property to pay marital debts, purchase marital property, collateralize a marital debt, or allow the other spouse to use the property as if it is marital property.

Uniform Premarital Agreement Act

A premarital agreement, also known as a prenuptial or ante-nuptial agreement, is an agreement made between the parties in anticipation of their marriage. Such agreements can cover issues such as property division upon divorce, as well as child custody, child support, and alimony. Although premarital agreements have been increasingly embraced for their ability to resolve complex property and support issues without resort to trial, the lack of uniform language included in such agreements has been noted as potentially problematic.