There can be no divorce without a marriage. In other words, if you are married, you qualify to get a divorce.
The purpose of divorce is to end marriage and allow the parties to make as much of a clean break from each other as is reasonably possible.
The objectives of the divorce should be to make such an arrangement of the property and economic resources of the parties that they will have the best possible opportunity to reconstruct their lives on a happy and useful basis for themselves and their children.
So a reasonably amicable divorce seeks to achieve three overall objectives:
1. It legally dissolves the marriage between you and your spouse—it ends the marriage;
2. It determines:
a. What is marital vs. separate property
b. and then divides these assets between you and your spouse;
c. what are marital vs. separate debts and obligations
d. and then divides responsibility between the parties for these debts and obligations;
3. It determines the child custody award (both the “physical custody, which is where the child resides, and the “legal custody,” which is the power to decide matters of the child’s health, education, moral and religious upbringing, and general welfare) and parent-time (also called “visitation”)
No matter how amicable you and your spouse are today, things can get complicated and/or heated quickly, if you’re not careful. OurDivorce helps you navigate the process so you can remain friendly during and after the divorce.