Walk It Through: The Split
One year apart, the child's best interests factor by factor, and property classified and divided.
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. Separation agreements, child support, and dissipation of marital funds 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.
- Living separate and apartThe no fault divorce ground: one year without cohabitation or interruption, or six months with a separation agreement and no minor children.
- Marital propertyProperty the court classifies as marital rather than separate, values and divides on either party's request, weighing the contributions, the length of the marriage and the other factors the section lists.
- Family abuseAn act of violence, force or threat by a family or household member that causes bodily injury or places someone in reasonable apprehension of death, sexual assault or bodily injury.