Divorce in Vermont

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  • Residency Requirements and Grounds for Divorce

  • Dividing the Property

  • Alimony

  • Child Custody and Visitation

  • Child Support

    Residency Requirements and Grounds for Divorce

    Either you or your spouse must be a resident of Vermont for at least six months in order to file for a divorce. Also, one of your must be a resident for one year before the divorce is made final. The legal process begins when either you or your spouse files a complaint for divorce in the family court located in the county where either or both of you reside.

    A divorce may be granted based upon any of the following grounds:

    • Adultery
    • Imprisonment for life or for three years or more
    • Intolerable severity, which is misconduct that causes injury to life, limb or health of other spouse or that threatens to create a danger of such injury
    • Willful desertion or when either spouse has been absent and not heard from for seven years
    • Refusal to provide maintenance for the other when have sufficient ability to do so
    • Incurable insanity
    • Living separate and apart without cohabitation for six consecutive months and the court finds that the resumption of marital relations is not reasonably probable.

    Dividing the Property

    Vermont is an "equitable distribution" state, which means that all of the property  of the spouses is subject to being divided on an equitable basis. This includes property owned by either spouse or both spouses, however and whenever acquired.

    The following factors are considered by the court when dividing the property:

    • Length of the marriage
    • Age and health of the spouses
    • Occupation, source and amount of income of each spouse
    • Vocational skills and employability of spouses
    • Contribution by one spouse to the education, training or increased earning power of the other
    • Value of each spouse's property and liabilities
    • Whether the property settlement is instead of or in addition to maintenance
    • Opportunity of each spouse for future acquisition of capital assets and income
    • Desirability of awarding the family home or the right to live there for reasonable periods to spouse having custody of children
    • The party through whom the property was acquired
    • Contribution of each spouse in the acquisition, preservation and depreciation or appreciation in value of the respective estates, including the nonmonetary contribution of a spouse as a homemaker
    • Respective merits of the spouses

    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 Vermont divorce lawyer can save you a lot of time and money.

    Alimony

    court can order alimony, which is called maintenance in Vermont, to either party. Maintenance may be rehabilitative, which is temporary, or permanent. The court may order maintenance if it finds that the spouse seeking maintenance lacks sufficient income or property to provide for his or her reasonable needs and is unable to support himself or herself through appropriate employment at the standard of living established during the marriage or is the custodian of any children.

    In deciding the amount and period of time of maintenance, the court will generally consider such factors as:

    • The financial resources of the spouse seeking maintenance, including property apportioned to such spouse and such spouse's ability to meet his or her needs independently
    • The time necessary to acquire sufficient education and training to enable the spouse seeking maintenance to find appropriate employment
    • The standard of living established during the marriage
    • The length of the marriage
    • The age and physical and emotional condition of each spouse
    • The ability of the spouse from whom support is sought to meet his or her needs while meeting those of the spouse seeking maintenance
    • The effects of inflation on the cost of living
    • Any other relevant factors

    Child Custody and Visitation

    In Vermont, joint or sole child custody may be awarded based on the best interests of the child. When the parents cannot agree to divide or share parental rights and responsibilities, the court will award parental rights and responsibilities primarily or solely to one parent. The court will consider the following factors:

    • The relationship of the child with each parent and the ability and disposition of each parent to provide the child with love, affection and guidance
    • The ability of each parent to provide food, clothing, medical care and other material needs and a safe environment
    • The ability of each parent to meet the child's present and future developmental needs
    • The child's adjustment to his or her home, school and community and the potential effect of any change
    • The ability and disposition of each parent to foster a positive relationship and frequent and continuing contact with the other parent
    • The quality of the child's relationship with the primary care provider, given the child's age and development
    • The relationship of the child with others who may significantly affect the child
    • The ability and disposition of the parents to communicate, cooperate with each other and make joint decisions concerning the children where parental rights and responsibilities are to be shared or divided
    • Evidence of abuse

    Child Support

    In Vermont, either parent or both parents may be required to pay child support. There are official child support guidelines that are presumed to be correct unless they are shown to be unfair under the circumstances. If there is such a showing, the court will consider the following factors when determining if a deviation from the support guidelines is necessary:

    • The financial resources of the child
    • The financial resources of the custodial parent
    • The standard of living the child would have enjoyed if the marital relationship had not been discontinued
    • The physical and emotional condition of the child
    • The educational needs of the child
    • The financial resources and needs of the noncustodial parent
    • Inflation
    • The costs of any educational needs of either parent
    • Any travel expenses related to parent-child contact
    • Any other relevant factors

    The court may order health insurance coverage for the child. Also, every order of child support must be made subject to a wage assignment in case of delinquency.

    Related Web Links:
    - Vermont Divorce and Child Support Forms
    - Vermont Domestic Relations
    - Vermont Child Support Guidelines
    - Vermont Office of Child Support
    - Vermont State Profile
    - Family Law: Selecting a Good Lawyer
    - Divorce - General message board for more help
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