Divorce in the District of Columbia

Residency Requirements and Grounds for Divorce

Residency Requirements and Grounds for Divorce

Either you or your spouse must by a resident of the District of Columbia for at least six months prior to commencing an action for divorce. Military personnel are considered residents if they have been stationed in the District of Columbia for six months. The legal process begins when one spouse files a Complaint for Divorce in the Family Division of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia.

A divorce may be granted if either of the following is true:

Both spouses have mutually and voluntarily lived separate and apart without cohabitation for a period of six months prior to commencing the action for divorce
Both spouses have lived separate and apart without cohabitation for a period of one year prior to commencing the action for divorce

To receive a court-approved divorce it is not necessary to show that either spouse was at fault in the breakdown of the marriage. The only thing that is necessary to prove is that there was a breakdown in the marital relationship and that there is no reasonable possibility that the marriage can be saved.

Dividing the Property

In the District of Columbia, assets and debts acquired during your marriage - called "marital property" - will be divided "equitably" when you divorce. The court is not required to divide the marital property on an equal basis but rather, in deciding what an equitable division of marital property should be, it considers the following factors:

The duration of the marriage
The age, health, occupation, amount, and sources of income, vocational skills, employability, assets, debts and needs of each of the spouses
Provisions for the custody of minor children
Whether the distribution is in lieu of or in addition to alimony
Each spouses obligation from a prior marriage or for other children
The opportunity of each spouse for future acquisition of assets and income
Each spouse's contribution as a homemaker or otherwise to the family unit
Each spouse's contribution to the education of the other party that enhanced the other spouse's earning ability
Each spouse's increase or decrease in income as a result of the marriage or duties of homemaking and child care
Each spouse's contribution to the acquisition, preservation, appreciation, dissipation, or depreciation in value of the assets which are subject to distribution, the taxability of these assets and whether the asset was acquired or the debt incurred after separation
The effects of taxation on the value of the assets subject to distribution
The circumstances which contributed to the estrangement of the couple

Separate property is retained by the owning spouse. Separate property includes the following:

Assets you had before you married if you kept that property separated from property acquired during the marriage
The income produced by a separate property investment as long as it hasn't been "commingled" - mixed together with marital property
Property you inherit from your family during your marriage if it was willed exclusively to you and you did not commingle it with marital property during the marriage

It is important to collect all the information you can about all your property, including when you purchased it, approximately how much it is worth and details such as account numbers, serial numbers and so forth. Collecting this information before you see a District of Columbia divorce lawyer can save you a lot of time and money.

Alimony

A District of Columbia court may require either party to pay alimony to the other party. Alimony may be rehabilitative or on an indefinite basis. Rehabilitative alimony is temporary. Indefinite alimony is permanent, but it does end when either spouse dies.

The court determines the amount and the time period for the award of alimony. In making an award of alimony, the court considers all the relevant factors necessary for a fair and equitable award, including the:

Ability of the person seeking alimony to be wholly or partly self-supporting
Time necessary for the person seeking alimony to gain sufficient education or training to enable that spouse to secure suitable employment
Standard of living that the couple established during their marriage, but giving consideration to the fact that there will be two households to maintain
Duration of the marriage
Circumstances which contributed to the estrangement of the couple
Age of each spouse
Physical and mental condition of each spouse
Ability of the spouse from whom alimony is sought to meet his or her needs while meeting the needs of the other spouse
Financial needs and financial resources of each spouse

A court may modify alimony if there is a change of circumstances. If you do not request alimony at the time of your divorce, you may request it later.

Child Custody and Visitation

In the District of Columbia, a court will enter an order for any custody arrangement that is agreed to by both parents unless clear and convincing evidence indicates that the arrangement is not in the best interest of the minor child. Otherwise the court will make custody decisions based primarily on the best interest of the child. The court makes a determination as to the legal custody and the physical custody of a child. A custody order may include:

Sole legal custody
Sole physical custody
Joint legal custody
Joint physical custody
Any other custody arrangement the court may determine is in the best interest of the child

"Legal custody" means legal responsibility for a child. The term "legal custody" includes the right to make decisions regarding that child's health, education and general welfare, the right to access the child's educational, medical, psychological, dental or other records, and the right to speak with and obtain information regarding the child from school officials, health care providers, counselors or other persons interacting with the child. "Physical custody" means a child's living arrangements. The term "physical custody" includes a child's residency or visitation schedule.

In determining the best interest of the child, the court considers all relevant factors including:

The wishes of the child as to his or her custodian, where practicable
The wishes of the child's parent or parents as to the child's custody
The interaction and interrelationship of the child with his or her parent or parents, his or her siblings and any other person who may emotionally or psychologically affect the child's best interest
The child's adjustment to his or her home, school and community
The mental and physical health of all individuals involved
Evidence of an intrafamily offense
The capacity of the parents to communicate and reach shared decisions affecting the child's welfare
The willingness of the parents to share custody
The prior involvement of each parent in the child's life
The potential disruption of the child's social and school life
The geographic proximity of the parental homes as it relates to the practical considerations of the child's residential schedule
The demands of parental employment
The age and number of children
The sincerity of each parent's request
The parent's ability to financially support a joint custody arrangement
The impact on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or Program on Work, Employment, and Responsibilities and medical assistance
The benefit to the parents

In determining visitation arrangements, if the court finds that an intrafamily offense has occurred, it will only award visitation if it finds that the child and custodial parent can be adequately protected from harm inflicted by the other party. The party found to have committed an intrafamily offense has the burden of proving that visitation will not endanger the child or harm the child's emotional development.

An award of custody may be modified or terminated upon the motion of one or both parents, or on the court's own motion, upon a determination that there has been a substantial and material change in circumstances and that the modification or termination is in the best interest of the child.

Child Support

In the District of Columbia, child support, which is a percentage of the non-custodial parent's income paid to assist with the support of his or her children, is calculated based upon the Child Support Guidelines. The District of Columbia Child Support guidelines are based on income, the number of dependants and the age of the oldest child. The non-custodial parent may expect to pay child support until a child is 21 years old.

Any order requiring payment of an amount of child support, regardless of whether the amount of the child support was the subject of a voluntary agreement of the parties, may be modified upon a showing that there has been a substantial and material change in the needs of the child or the ability of the responsible person to pay.

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