Child Support
Residency Requirements and Grounds for Divorce
Either you or your spouse must be a Rhode Island resident for at least one year before filing for divorce. A divorce case begins when you file a complaint for divorce in the family court of the county where you or your spouse reside. Rhode Island has "no-fault" divorce, which may be based upon either of the following grounds:
- Irreconcilable differences caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage
- Living separate and apart without cohabitation for three years
A divorce may also be granted on the following grounds:
- Impotency
- Adultery
- Extreme cruelty
- Willful desertion for five years
- Alcoholism or drug addiction
- Neglect and refusal to support for at least one year
- Gross misbehavior
Dividing the Property
Assets and debts acquired during your marriage - called "marital property" - will be divided "equitably" when you divorce. This means a fair, but not necessarily equal division. In deciding to divide the property, judges look at a number of factors, including:
- Marriage length
- The conduct of the spouses during the marriage
- The contribution of each spouse in acquiring marital property, including efforts as a homemaker
- Spouses' ages and health
- Spouses' incomes and sources of income
- The occupation and employability of each of the spouses
- Opportunity of each party for future acquisition of assets and income
- The contribution by one spouse to the education, training, licensure, business or increased earning power of the other
- The need of a custodial parent to occupy or own the marital residence and to use or own the household effects according to the best interest of any children
- Either spouse's waste or unfair transfer of any assets in contemplation of divorce
- Any other relevant factors
Separate property is retained by the owning spouse and includes:
- Assets you had before you married if you kept it separate from marital property
- Inherited property, not commingled or mixed with marital 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 a Rhode Island divorce lawyer and it can save you a lot of time and money.
Alimony
The court can order alimony to either spouse. The purpose of alimony is to provide support for a reasonable length of time to allow him or her to become financially self-sufficient. However, the court may award alimony for an indefinite period of time if it is appropriate. In deciding the amount and duration of alimony, the following factors are considered:
- Marriage length
- The conduct of the spouses during the marriage
- The health, age, station, occupation, amount and source of income, vocational skills and employability of the spouses
- The liabilities and needs of each spouse
- The extent to which either spouse lack ability to be self-sufficient
An alimony award may be modified if there has been a substantial change in circumstances. The obligation to pay alimony automatically ends if the recipient spouse remarries.
Child Custody and Visitation
In Rhode Island, the court will make child custody decisions based upon what is in the best interests of the child. Reasonable visitation is generally granted to the noncustodial parent, unless it would be harmful to the child. If the custodial parent does not comply with the visitation order, the noncustodial parent may file a motion for contempt in family court. If the court finds noncompliance with a visitation order a second time, the court will consider it to be grounds for a change of custody to the noncustodial parent.
Child Support
In Rhode Island, either or both parents may be ordered to provide child support based on state child support guidelines and a formula. If that amount would be unfair to either the child or a parent, the court can set a different amount. In setting a different amount, the court may look at factors, including:
- Child's financial resources
- Custodial parent's financial resources
- The standard of living the child would have enjoyed but for the divorce
- The physical and emotional conditions and educational needs of the child
- The financial resources, needs and obligations of the noncustodial parent
- Any other relevant factors
The court may order child support and education costs for children who are 18 years old and attending high school. The support order may continue for 90 days after graduation. The court may not order support for a child beyond their 19th birthday. However, the court may order child support to continue for a child with a severe physical or mental impairment until the child's 21st birthday.