Walk It Through: The Divorce And The Kids
A move from another state, a year apart, equal time with the children, a name, and a grandmother.
A couple married in another state moved to West Virginia earlier this year and have now separated.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One divorce with two children. Child support, spousal support, a parent's relocation and dividing a pension 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.
- Custodial responsibilityThe time a child spends with each parent. Unless the parents agree otherwise or it would harm the child, the court allocates it equally (50-50).
- Irreconcilable differencesA ground for divorce alleged in the complaint and admitted in the answer, needing no corroboration.
- Voluntary separationLiving separate and apart in separate places without cohabitation and without interruption for one year, a ground for divorce whether one spouse chose it or both did.
- Class I legal advertisementA notice published once in a newspaper. A name change petitioner publishes one at least ten days before the hearing.