Grandparents may have legal rights in Rhode Island, regarding visitation, however, this is far from certain. In the event the grandparents and parents can come to an agreement regarding visitation, court intervention is generally not required. When no such agreement can be made, there are certain situations grandparents may be granted a court order allowing…
Bifurcation of divorce allows spouses to become legally divorced before the divorce details have been finalized. The option to remarry is the most common use of bifurcation; however, some couples seek a bifurcation to distinguish between marriage or pre-marriage property. Rhode Island does not permit bifurcation. The court will not handle the end of the…
In the state of Rhode Island, there is no such thing as a court granted annulment. It simply does not exist. As such in Rhode Island, you cannot get your marriage annulled. However, you can ask the Court to make a legal determination that the marriage was Void ab initio. This means that the marriage…
In situations where a custodial parent wishes to relocate with a child, the court will determine whether child custody relocation is in the best interests of the child. While a parent is free to relocate out of state themselves without the child or with the permission of the other parent to take the child, the…
Rather than divide marital property equally, the State of Rhode Island General Laws require a Judge to divide it equitably. This means fairly and taking into account the good and bad behavior of both parties. Rhode Island generally considers “marital property” as any property—be it income, assets, real estate, or everyday items—that comes into possession…
Alimony is a series of monetary payments to an ex-spouse that may be mandated as part of a divorce decree. Paying alimony can be an expensive and painful process—and it is about to get much more painful, thanks to changes to the federal tax code. At present, those paying alimony may deduct the payments on…
When most of us think of divorce, we often fear custody battles, endless legal filings, and costly court proceedings. The process of divorce can seem daunting, and the emotional aspects of a marriage’s dissolution can be painful. But what if there was another way? Another, more collaborative and sometimes less expensive way? There is: mediation.…
A ‘gray divorce’ refers to a split that happens between an older husband and wife, often after many years of marriage. With more and more couples over fifty, or even over sixty-five, choosing to part ways, the phenomenon has also earned the names, ‘silver splitter’ and ‘diamond divorce.’ While it might be unsettling to think…
Absolutely, unequivocally no. While it remains a common belief that courts favor, or are even biased for mothers in custody disputes, this is not the case. The belief stems from past practices and trends in court. When divorce became more common in the 1970s, society, including the judges within it, assumed a gendered division of…
Child support is a court-ordered financial obligation ordered to be paid from one parent to another. When two parents of a child separate, the court will issue a judgment against the non-custodial parent (the parent with the lesser amount of parenting time) to make a monthly payment to the custodial parent (the parent with the…
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