Walk It Through: The Split
Mutual consent after 90 days, safety weighed first, and an equitable division.
A pharmacist, married for years with one child, decides the marriage is over and asks what it takes to file.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One marriage and one house. Fault grounds, relocation, and child support are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- Equitable distributionThe court's division of marital property on request of either spouse, done equitably and without regard to marital misconduct, weighing the factors the section lists.
- Irretrievable breakdownA divorce ground: the spouses have lived separate and apart for at least one year and the marriage is irretrievably broken.
- Best interest of the childThe standard every form of custody is decided by, giving substantial weighted consideration to the factors that affect the child's safety.