Hit Him Where It Hurts by Sherri Donovan

Author:Sherri Donovan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Published: 2007-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Different Stakes in

Different States

“The great crises of life are not, I think, necessarily those which are in themselves the hardest to bear, but those for which we are least prepared.”

—Mary Adams, Confessions of a Wife

IN THE UNITED STATES, most of the laws affecting divorce and separation are established by state legislators and vary from state to state. For example, some states have laws mandating that children’s wishes be considered in determining child custody, while other states do not. Even when two or more states have the same or a similar law, the nuances of that law and how it is applied can vary from one state to another. For instance, although several states allow spousal support when one spouse doesn’t have the means to cover living expenses, some of those states can disallow the support if the spouse’s marital conduct is improper, while others don’t consider marital conduct at all in determining spousal support.

There are also federal laws relating to divorce and separation, which apply uniformly to all states. For example, one federal law makes not paying court-ordered child support a felony. Another, the Bradley Amendment, enacted in 1986 to help improve child support compliance, removed the ability of judges to reduce child support payments in the event of the paying parent’s unemployment, bankruptcy, or incapacitation.

Another thing to keep in mind is that matrimonial laws are subject to change, so the laws under which, say, your neighbor’s divorce was granted several years ago may not apply anymore. Needless to say, the federal and state matrimonial laws are too numerous and complicated to cover in this book. However, a good matrimonial lawyer will know all the pertinent laws and will know how to apply them to your case.

For now, let’s take a look at the major variances between a few basic matrimonial laws that are likely to be a factor in your divorce or separation.

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