"No-Fault" Divorce vs. "Fault" Divorce

Each state's divorce laws will vary in terms of "No-Fault" or "Fault" divorce.  Nevada is a no-fault" divorce state. No-fault means that one spouse may file a divorce even if neither of the parties has committed a wrongdoing. In a fault divorce state, the divorcing couple must must provide valid reasons why the judge should grant a divorce. Most states have abandoned the fault divorce standards.  

The main advantage of a no-fault divorce is that you will not need to prove any fault, such as infidelity, to obtain a divorce. Even though Nevada is a no-fault state the divorce court will still require for the parties to list one or more of the following reasons for filing divorce; 1) Incompatible 2) Separated for over one year 3) Insanity for over two years.

Military Divorce Laws

Military divorce cases can create unique issues compared to a civilian divorce.  Most of these were written to protect active military members being not knowing or being unable to respond in a divorce proceeding. The majority of these laws is included in the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act.

Major Points of the Soldiers and Sailors Civil Relief Act

• A divorce proceeding may be postponed for active duty member is serving duty in active battle.
• An active duty member serving in battle can waive the postponement.
• Residency requirements require that you or your spouse must reside or be stationed in Nevada.
• Division of a military member's pension will be governed by the Uniformed Services Former Spouses’ Protection Act.

When Child Custody Orders Are Not Followed

Either spouse violating a Divorce Decree and the Child Custody terms within is a serious violation. Parties seeking to enforce a Child Custody order have civil and sometimes criminal remedies.

Civil Remedies

Contempt of Court - The court may hold the violating party in contempt of court.  Contempt of court usually involves a fine and attorney fees.

Injunctions - The court may require the other party to perform or refrain from certain acts. The court may require the party to return the child or prevent the parent from leaving the state with the child.

Custody Modification - The court may order a modification to the order for violations to the order.  Typical changes would be to change from joining custody to primary custody.

Criminal Remedies

Misdemeanor or Felony Charges - Some violations of the child custody order maybe escalate to kidnapping, false imprisonment or violation of the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA). A local district attorney  may proceed with appropriate criminal charges.

Contempt of court - This is similar to civil contempt of court except the parties is a repeat offender and may be sentenced to a small amount of jail time.

Alimony & Spousal Support Definition

Alimony, sometimes called spousal support, may be awarded when it is determined that one spouse  earns significantly more income than the other spouse and/or has earned a degree or obtained education that would earn additional income.  

For example; John, 52, and Mary, 50, have been married for 18 years and have decided to divorce.  were married for twenty-two years before deciding to divorce. Mary spent most of the marriage at home raising the children.  She have been working for the last few years but Bob earns $100,000 a year and Mary only earns $36,000.  Bob also has earned a Masters Degree during the marriage. 

In this example the court may order John to pay Mary monthly, or a lump sum, spousal support. The number and amount of payments would be determined by the judge. The overwhelming majority of all alimony awards are from the husband to the wife, but the United States Supreme Court has held that it is unconstitutional for a state’s law to only allow payments a wife. alimony payments only to the wife; payments to the husband must be permissible too.

Illinois Appellate Court Rules Spousal Support Should Be Permanent

Here are the facts of the case. A wife and husband, both fifty years of age, had been married for twenty-nine years. During the first years of the marriage, the wife worked as a high school teacher. The wife left her job as a teacher to care for the couples four children.  The husband worked throughout the marriage, and, at the time of divorce, earned $77,000 per year.  The children had left the home and the wife had resumed teaching three prior to the filing of the divorce.  The wife earned a salary of $30,000 per year.

On these facts, the Illinois Appellate Court held that the wife was entitled to permanent spousal support in the amount of $600 per month. The court said: “Marriage is a partnership, not only morally, but financially. Spouses are coequals, and homemaker services must be recognized as significant when the economic incidents of divorce are determined. The [wife] should not be penalized for having performed her assignment under the agreed-upon division of labor within the family.” The court felt her Her salary would have been significantly higher, and she would have had increased retirement benefits had she continued working full-time as a teacher during the marriage.

"Best Interest" of the Child

If a court is asked to decide whether a parent should be awarded primary custody the court will need to determine if that would be in the "best interest" of your child.  In order to determine this subjective standard, the court will attempt to decide whether awarding primary custody  would meet the child's physical, educational, educational, spiritual, emotional, and financial needs more so than if joint custody was awarded.  There only on a few issues such as domestic violence, criminal record, drug use, etc. that would make this an easy decision for the judge.