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Residency Requirements and Grounds for Divorce

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You or your spouse must be a resident of Tennessee for at least six months in order to file for divorce. The legal divorce process begins when one spouse files a complaint for divorce. The divorce papers must be filed in a county where either you or your spouse resides.

Tennessee has both no-fault and fault divorces. For a no fault divorce, there only needs to be a statement that there are irreconcilable differences within the marriage plus a showing that the spouses have been living apart for two years. However, you and your spouse must be in agreement about child custody, child support, division of the property and division of any debt. In an irreconcilable differences divorce there is a waiting period of 60 days from the date that the divorce complaint was filed (90 days if there are children).

The fault grounds include:

• Adultery
• Desertion
• Cruel and inhumane treatment
• Conviction of a felony accompanied by a sentence of confinement in the penitentiary
• Habitual drunkenness or abuse of narcotic drugs

If you and your spouse have children, you must each go to a parenting class. You also must each go to mediation and submit a parenting plan.

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Dividing the Property

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In Tennessee, assets and debts acquired during your marriage called “marital property” – will be divided “equitably” when you divorce. “Marital property” is all jointly owned property, other than separate property, acquired by either or both spouses during the marriage. “Separate property” is property owned prior to the marriage or property that was inherited or received as a gift. Separate property is retained by the owning spouse.

Examples of separate property:

• Assets you had before you married may be considered non-marital or separate property if you kept that property separated from property acquired during the marriage
• Income produced by a separate property investment may also be non-marital property, as long as it hasn’t been “commingled” – mixed together with marital property
• Property you inherit from your family during your marriage will generally be considered your own separate property if it was willed exclusively to you and you did not commingle it with marital property during the marriage.

In deciding how to divide the property owned by divorcing couples, judges will consider a number of factors, including:

• Length of the marriage
• Age, physical and mental health, vocational skills, employability, earning capacity, estate, financial liabilities and financial needs of each spouse
• Contribution by one spouse to the education, training or increased earning power of the other spouse
• Relative ability of each spouse for future acquisitions of capital assets and income
• Contribution of each spouse to the acquisition, preservation, appreciation, depreciation or dissipation of the marital or separate property, including the contribution of a party to the marriage as homemaker, wage earner or parent, with the contribution of a party as homemaker or wage earner to be given the same weight if each party has fulfilled its role
• Value of the separate property
• Estate of each spouse at the time of the marriage
• Economic circumstances of each spouse at the time the division of property is to become effective
• Tax consequences to each spouse
• Amount of social security benefits available to each spouse

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

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Alimony

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Alimony is a court ordered payment from one spouse to another for financial support. A court can order alimony to either party in Tennessee. In deciding the amount that should be paid, a court will generally consider such factors as:

• Relative earning capacity, obligations, needs, and financial resources of each spouse
• Relative education and training of each spouse
• Duration of the marriage
• Age and mental condition of each spouse
• Physical condition of each spouse
• Whether it is undesirable for spouse to seek outside employment because spouse will be custodian of a minor child
• Separate property of the spouses
• Distribution of the marital property
• Standard of living
• Contributions to the marriage
• Relative fault of each spouse
• Tax consequences of the award

A court can order temporary maintenance while the divorce is pending. The temporary order ends when the final judgment for divorce is entered.

The spouses may agree to make alimony nonmodifiable. If there is no agreement, maintenance may be modified only upon a showing of a “change in circumstances.” If alimony is not received at the time of the divorce, it cannot be obtained later.

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Child Custody and Visitation

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In Tennessee, the court will make child custody decisions based upon the “best interest” of the child. The court may award sole custody to one spouse or joint custody to the spouses or even custody to a third party. There is a presumption in favor of joint custody if both parents agree. The court considers all relevant factors including the following:

• Love, affection and emotional ties existing between the parents and child
• Disposition of the parents to provide the child with food, clothing, medical care, education and other necessary care and the degree to which a parent has been the primary caregiver
• Importance of continuity in the child’s life and the length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment
• Stability of the family unit of the parents
• Mental and physical health of the parents
• Home, school, and community record of the child
• The reasonable preference of the child if 12 years of age or older
• Physical or emotional abuse to the child, to the other parent or to any other person
• Character and behavior of any other person who resides in or frequents the home of a parent
• Each parent’s past and potential for future performance of parenting responsibilities

The court may award either sole or shared custody if it is in the best interest of the child. If the court orders sole custody, it will usually award the non-custodial parent visitation rights to see the child.

After the custody order is signed by the judge and filed with the court clerk, both parents are bound by it. A “material change in circumstances” will justify a modification of a child custody order. The court will then consider the petition to modify custody using a best interests standard.

Tennessee courts will set visitation unless it would place your child in imminent danger of harm. The courts set holiday and special occasion visitation.

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Child Support

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In Tennessee, child support is a percentage of the non-custodial parent’s income that is paid to assist with the support of that parent’s child or children. Support is generally ordered through the age of 18 years old or until the child is a high school graduate.

A Tennessee child support order can be modified if there has been a “significant variance” between the child support guideline amount and the current support order. Upon application for adjustment by either party, the court must increase or decrease child support in accordance with the guidelines unless the significant variance occurs due to a previous decision of the court to deviate from the guidelines and the circumstances which caused the deviation have not changed.

In Tennessee, the court will take into consideration the following primary factors when determining what custody arrangement is best for a child:

(a) the love, affection, and emotional ties between the parents and child;

(b) the importance of continuity and the length of time the child has lived in a stable and satisfactory environment;

(c) whether there has been any domestic violence or physical or mental abuse to the child, spouse, or any other person and whether a parent has had to relocate to avoid such violence;

(d) the stability of the family unit;

(e) the mental and physical health of the parents;

(f) the home, school, and community record of the child;

(g) the reasonable preference of a child over 12 years of age;

(h) the character and behavior of any person who lives in or visits the parent’s home and such person’s interactions with the child; and

(i) each parent’s past and potential performance of parenting duties, including a willingness and ability to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing parent-child relationship with the other parent. (Tennessee Code – Volume 6A, Title 36, Sections 36-4-106)

State Abbreviation	TN
Statehood	June 1, 1796
State Capital	Nashville
Number of Counties	95
State Population (2005)	5,962,959
State Quarter Issue Date	January 2, 2002
State Flower	Iris
Nickname	Volunteer State
State Flag
Area Codes	423, 615, 731, 865, 901, 931
Top 5 Cities (2000 population)	Memphis 650,100 Nashville-Davidson* 569,891 Knoxville 173,890 Chattanooga 155,554 Clarksville 103,455 * The city is is coextensive with Davidson County.
Major Sports Teams	NFL: Tennessee Oilers NBA: Memphis Grizzlies NHL: Nashville Predators

SecretDivorce Applies to ALL 50 States – here is some helpful information if you are getting divorced or PLANNING on getting divorced in Florida

State Divorce Laws: Florida

Residency and Filing Requirements: In order to file for a dissolution of marriage in Florida, residency requirements must be met for the court to accept the case. If the court discovers it does not have jurisdictional rights to hear the case it will not be accepted or it will eventually be dismissed. The requirements are as follows:

To obtain a dissolution of marriage, one of the parties to the marriage must reside 6 months in the state before the filing of the petition. The dissolution of marriage can be filed in the county in which either or both spouses reside. (Florida Statutes – Chapters: 61.021)

Grounds for Filing: The Petition for Dissolution of Marriage must declare the appropriate Florida grounds upon which the dissolution of marriage is being sought. The appropriate lawful ground will be that which the parties agree upon and can substantiate, or that which the filing spouse desires to prove to the court. The dissolution of marriage grounds are as follows:

No judgment of dissolution of marriage shall be granted unless one of the following facts appears, which shall be pleaded generally:

(a) The marriage is irretrievably broken.

(b) Mental incapacity of one of the parties. However, no dissolution shall be allowed unless the party alleged to be incapacitated shall have been adjudged incapacitated according to the provisions of S. 744.331 for a preceding period of at least 3 years. (Florida Statutes – Chapters: 61.052)

Filing Spouse Title: Petitioner. The Petitioner is the spouse who initiates the filing procedure with the family law or domestic relations court.

Non-Filing Spouse Title: Respondent. The Respondent is the spouse who does not file the initial dissolution of marriage papers, but rather receives them by service.

Court Name: In the Circuit Court in and for the County of __________, Florida. This is the Florida court where the dissolution of marriage will be filed. The court will assign a case number and have jurisdictional rights to facilitate and grant the orders concerning, but not limited to: property and debt division, support, custody, and visitation. The name of the court is clearly represented at the top of all documents that are filed.

Primary Documents: Petition for Dissolution of Marriage and Final Judgment of Dissolution of Marriage. These are the essential documents needed to start and finalize a dissolution of marriage according to Florida law. There are anywhere from ten to twenty other documents that may be required throughout the filing process. A few other documents that are typically filed during the process are: Affidavit of Corrobrating Witness, Marital Settlement Agreement, Family Law Financial Affidavit, Answer, Waiver, and Final Disposition Form.

Court Clerk’s Title: County Clerk’s Office of the Circuit Court. The clerk or the clerk’s assistants will be the people managing your paperwork with the court. The clerk’s office will keep the parties and the lawyers informed throughout the process in regards to additional paperwork that is needed, further requirements, and hearing dates and times.

Property Distribution: Since Florida is an “equitable distribution” state, the marital property shall be divided in an equitable fashion. Equitable does not mean equal, but rather what is fair. The court will encourage the parties to reach a settlement on property and debt issues otherwise the court will declare the property award.

In a proceeding for dissolution of marriage, in addition to all other remedies available to a court to do equity between the parties, or in a proceeding for disposition of assets following a dissolution of marriage by a court which lacked jurisdiction over the absent spouse or lacked jurisdiction to dispose of the assets, the court shall set apart to each spouse that spouse’s nonmarital assets and liabilities, and in distributing the marital assets and liabilities between the parties, the court must begin with the premise that the distribution should be equal, unless there is a justification for an unequal distribution based on all relevant factors, including:

• (a) The contribution to the marriage by each spouse, including contributions to the care and education of the children and services as homemaker.
• (b) The economic circumstances of the parties.
• (c) The duration of the marriage.
• (d) Any interruption of personal careers or educational opportunities of either party.
• (e) The contribution of one spouse to the personal career or educational opportunity of the other spouse.
• (f) The desirability of retaining any asset, including an interest in a business, corporation, or professional practice, intact and free from any claim or interference by the other party.
• (g) The contribution of each spouse to the acquisition, enhancement, and production of income or the improvement of, or the incurring of liabilities to, both the marital assets and the nonmarital assets of the parties.
• (h) The desirability of retaining the marital home as a residence for any dependent child of the marriage, or any other party, when it would be equitable to do so, it is in the best interest of the child or that party, and it is financially feasible for the parties to maintain the residence until the child is emancipated or until exclusive possession is otherwise terminated by a court of competent jurisdiction. In making this determination, the court shall first determine if it would be in the best interest of the dependent child to remain in the marital home; and, if not, whether other equities would be served by giving any other party exclusive use and possession of the marital home.
• (i) The intentional dissipation, waste, depletion, or destruction of marital assets after the filing of the petition or within 2 years prior to the filing of the petition.
• (j) Any other factors necessary to do equity and justice between the parties. (Florida Statutes – Chapters: 61.075 and 61.077)

Spousal Support: Not all cases involve support from one spouse to the other. The obligation of one spouse to support the other financially for a temporary or permanent basis is decided on a case-by-case basis as agreed to by the parties or at the court’s discretion.

In a proceeding for dissolution of marriage, the court may grant alimony to either party, which alimony may be rehabilitative or permanent in nature. In any award of alimony, the court may order periodic payments or payments in lump sum or both. The court may consider the adultery of either spouse and the circumstances thereof in determining the amount of alimony, if any, to be awarded.

In determining a proper award of alimony or maintenance, the court shall consider all relevant economic factors, including but not limited to: (a) The standard of living established during the marriage. (b) The duration of the marriage. (c) The age and the physical and emotional condition of each party. (d) The financial resources of each party, the nonmarital and the marital assets and liabilities distributed to each. (e) When applicable, the time necessary for either party to acquire sufficient education or training to enable such party to find appropriate employment. (f) The contribution of each party to the marriage, including, but not limited to, services rendered in homemaking, child care, education, and career building of the other party. (g) All sources of income available to either party. The court may consider any other factor necessary to do equity and justice between the parties.

To the extent necessary to protect an award of alimony, the court may order any party who is ordered to pay alimony to purchase or maintain a life insurance policy or a bond, or to otherwise secure such alimony award with any other assets which may be suitable for that purpose. (Florida Statutes – Chapters: 61.08)

Child Custody: When minor children are involved in a dissolution of marriage, the Florida courts will do everything possible to help lessen the emotional trauma the children may be experiencing. If the parents cannot come to an agreement regarding the issues involving the children, the court will establish the custody order at its discretion.

The court shall have jurisdiction to determine custody, notwithstanding that the child is not physically present in this state at the time of filing any proceeding under this chapter, if it appears to the court that the child was removed from this state for the primary purpose of removing the child from the jurisdiction of the court in an attempt to avoid a determination or modification of custody.

The court shall determine all matters relating to custody of each minor child of the parties in accordance with the best interests of the child and in accordance with the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. It is the public policy of this state to assure that each minor child has frequent and continuing contact with both parents after the parents separate or the marriage of the parties is dissolved and to encourage parents to share the rights and responsibilities, and joys, of childrearing. After considering all relevant facts, the father of the child shall be given the same consideration as the mother in determining the primary residence of a child irrespective of the age or sex of the child.

The court shall order that the parental responsibility for a minor child be shared by both parents unless the court finds that shared parental responsibility would be detrimental to the child.

In ordering shared parental responsibility, the court may consider the expressed desires of the parents and may grant to one party the ultimate responsibility over specific aspects of the child’s welfare or may divide those responsibilities between the parties based on the best interests of the child. Areas of responsibility may include primary residence, education, medical and dental care, and any other responsibilities that the court finds unique to a particular family.

The court shall order “sole parental responsibility, with or without visitation rights, to the other parent when it is in the best interests of” the minor child.

The court may award the grandparents visitation rights with a minor child if it is in the child’s best interest. Grandparents have legal standing to seek judicial enforcement of such an award. This section does not require that grandparents be made parties or given notice of dissolution pleadings or proceedings, nor do grandparents have legal standing as “contestants” as defined in 1s. 61.1306. A court may not order that a child be kept within the state or jurisdiction of the court solely for the purpose of permitting visitation by the grandparents.

No presumption shall arise in favor of or against a request to relocate when a primary residential parent seeks to move the child and the move will materially affect the current schedule of contact and access with the secondary residential parent. In making a determination as to whether the primary residential parent may relocate with a child, the court must consider the following factors: 1. Whether the move would be likely to improve the general quality of life for both the residential parent and the child. 2. The extent to which visitation rights have been allowed and exercised. 3. Whether the primary residential parent, once out of the jurisdiction, will be likely to comply with any substitute visitation arrangements. 4. Whether the substitute visitation will be adequate to foster a continuing meaningful relationship between the child and the secondary residential parent. 5. Whether the cost of transportation is financially affordable by one or both parties. 6. Whether the move is in the best interests of the child. (Florida Statutes – Chapters: 61.13)

Child Support: Florida child support guidelines are based on the Income Shares Model for calculating child support. The monthly support amount determined by applying the guidelines is divided proportionally according to each parent’s income. These two support amounts are then offset to establish which parent will pay the other parent for support of the child. All income is typically verified by examining past W-2′s and child support worksheets are available at the courthouse.

The court has the right to order child support according the Florida Child Support Guidelines. These guidelines are based on the income of each parent along with applicable deviation factors that may exist. If the parents can not come to a reasonable agreement on the child support amount the court will use the support guidelines located in the Florida Statutes.

Income shall be determined on a monthly basis for the obligor and for the obligee as follows: (a) Gross income shall include, but is not limited to, the following items: 1. Salary or wages. 2. Bonuses, commissions, allowances, overtime, tips, and other similar payments. 3. Business income from sources such as self-employment, partnership, close corporations, and independent contracts. “Business income” means gross receipts minus ordinary and necessary expenses required to produce income. 4. Disability benefits. 5. All workers’ compensation benefits and settlements. 6. Unemployment compensation. 7. Pension, retirement, or annuity payments. 8. Social security benefits. 9. Spousal support received from a previous marriage or court ordered in the marriage before the court. 10. Interest and dividends. 11. Rental income, which is gross receipts minus ordinary and necessary expenses required to produce the income. 12. Income from royalties, trusts, or estates. 13. Reimbursed expenses or in kind payments to the extent that they reduce living expenses. 14. Gains derived from dealings in property, unless the gain is nonrecurring.

Allowable deductions from gross income shall include: (a) Federal, state, and local income tax deductions, adjusted for actual filing status and allowable dependents and income tax liabilities. (b) Federal insurance contributions or self-employment tax. (c) Mandatory union dues. (d) Mandatory retirement payments. (e) Health insurance payments, excluding payments for coverage of the minor child. (f) Court-ordered support for other children which is actually paid. (g) Spousal support paid pursuant to a court order from a previous marriage or the marriage before the court.

The court may adjust the minimum child support award, or either or both parents’ share of the minimum child support award, based upon the following considerations: 1. Extraordinary medical, psychological, educational, or dental expenses. 2. Independent income of the child, not to include moneys received by a child from supplemental security income. 3. The payment of support for a parent which regularly has been paid and for which there is a demonstrated need. 4. Seasonal variations in one or both parents’ incomes or expenses. 5. The age of the child, taking into account the greater needs of older children. 6. Special needs, such as costs that may be associated with the disability of a child, that have traditionally been met within the family budget even though the fulfilling of those needs will cause the support to exceed the proposed guidelines. 7. Total available assets of the obligee, obligor, and the child. 8. The impact of the Internal Revenue Service dependency exemption and waiver of that exemption. The court may order the primary residential parent to execute a waiver of the Internal Revenue Service dependency exemption if the noncustodial parent is current in support payments. 9. When application of the child support guidelines requires a person to pay another person more than 55 percent of his or her gross income for a child support obligation for current support resulting from a single support order. 10. The particular shared parental arrangement, such as where the child spends a significant amount of time, but less than 40 percent of the overnights, with the noncustodial parent, thereby reducing the financial expenditures incurred by the primary residential parent; or the refusal of the noncustodial parent to become involved in the activities of the child. 11. Any other adjustment which is needed to achieve an equitable result which may include, but not be limited to, a reasonable and necessary existing expense or debt. Such expense or debt may include, but is not limited to, a reasonable and necessary expense or debt which the parties jointly incurred during the marriage. (Florida Statutes – Chapters: 61.13 and 61.30)