Modification of Court Orders
Residency Requirements and Grounds for Divorce
Residency and filing requirements differ depending on whether you and your spouse are Iowa residents. If you've been a resident for one year, and your spouse isn't a resident, you can file in the county where you live. If the nonfiling spouse is a resident and is personally served with the divorce papers, you can file in the county where he or she lives; there's no residency requirement for the filing spouse. Otherwise, the "petition for dissolution of marriage" is filed in the county where either of you live.
There is a 90-day waiting period before your divorce is finalized. The waiting period starts when your spouse is served with the divorce papers, and signs to acknowledge service.
Either spouse can get a divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, also called irreconcilable differences. This means there's no reasonable hope that the marriage can continue.
Dividing the Property
Iowa is an equitable division state, and marital property is divided "equitably" upon divorce. The court divides all assets and debts, except property a spouse receives by gift or inheritance based on these factors:
- Marriage length
- Property each spouse brought into the marriage
- Contributions by each spouse to the marriage, including homemaking and child care
- Spouses' ages and emotional and physical health
- The contribution by one spouse to the education, training or increased earning power of the other
- Spouse's earning capacities
- The desirability of awarding the family home or the right to live in it to the custodial parent
- The amount and duration of an order granting spousal support payments
- Other economic circumstances of each spouse
- Tax consequences to each spouse
- Any written agreement made by the spouses for property distribution
- Antenuptial agreement terms
- Other factors the court views as relevant
Generally, you and your spouse keep your "separate property." Usually you must have kept your separate property apart from your marital property, and not commingled or mixed it with marital assets. Separate property includes assets you had before marriage, inherited property or gifts and income from separate property.
Be prepared with information on your property, including when you purchased it, an estimate of value, and details such as account numbers, serial numbers and so forth. You'll be ready to meet with an Iowa divorce lawyer and it can save you a lot of time and money.
Alimony
A court can order alimony or support payments to either spouse for their support and maintenance after the divorce. In deciding whether to award support, a court will consider the following factors:
- Marriage length
- Age and physical and emotional health of the spouses
- Property distribution
- Education level of each spouse at the time of the marriage and the divorce
- Earning capacity of the spouse seeking support
- Feasibility of the spouse seeking maintenance for self-support at a living standard comparable to that during the marriage, and the time needed to do so
- Tax consequences to each spouse
- Whether the spouses have any agreements regarding financial or service contribution by one of them, with an expectation of future financial compensation in return
- Any antenuptial agreement terms
- Other factors that the court deems relevant
Support payments serve to lessen the impact of a divorce on one spouse, and not to punish the other. Support may be ordered for a limited or indefinite length of time.
Child Custody and Visitation
Iowa law requires the court to order a child custody award to give the child the chance for the best physical and emotional relationship with both parents. A custody award also should allow parents to share in the rights and responsibilities in raising their child. "Custody" means a parent has legal custodial rights and responsibilities toward a child. "Joint custody" means that both parents have legal custodial rights and responsibilities. Another variation is "joint physical care" where parents share parenting time.
The court looks at many factors when deciding on the custody award that is best for the child. Factors include:
- Whether each parent would be a suitable custodian for the child
- The impact of a custody arrangement on the child, with respect to having active care and attention from both parents
- Ability of parents to communicate and cooperate on child-rearing issues
- Whether both parents have been active in child care since separating
- Child's wishes, depending on child's age and maturity
- Whether the parents support joint custody
- Whether parents live near one another
- History of domestic abuse
Courts generally award noncustodial parents liberal visitation rights.
Custody and visitation orders may be modified if the court finds that a substantial change of circumstances has occurred, but a parent must apply to the court for a modification of an order.
Child Support
One or both parents may be ordered to pay child support. The support based on Iowa's child support guidelines is presumed correct. A judge can deviate from the guidelines amount if it would be unjust or inappropriate.
Child support continues until the child is 18 years old, even if the child graduates from high school before that age. Courts can require a supporting parent to pay a post-secondary education subsidy through age 22.
Modification of Court Orders
Orders providing for the support and custody of children are subject to modification after the divorce if there is a substantial change in the circumstances of the parties such as an increase or decrease in income or a change in the living arrangements of the children.
Questions for Your Attorney