Rhode Island Divorce
Information and FAQ
This section contains selected divorce statutes from Rhode
Island. Some may not be relevant to your case but are presented here
as a general overview. The selected statutes and portions of
statutes set out below are not intended to be an all-inclusive
statement of all statutes but it does contain basic and some other
statutes.
Grounds for Divorce The Rhode Island Code § 15-5-1, § 15-5-2,
and § 15-5-3.1 describe the permissable grounds for divorce in
Rhode Island are as follows:
(1) "Civil death" or presumption of death;
(2) Impotency;
(3) Adultery;
(4) Extreme cruelty;
(5) Willful desertion for five (5) years of either of the
parties, or for willful desertion for a shorter period of time in
the discretion of the court;
(6) For continued drunkenness;
(7) For the habitual, excessive, and intemperate use of opium,
morphine, or chloral;
(8) For neglect and refusal, for the period of at least one year
next before the filing of the petition, on the part of the husband
to provide necessaries for the subsistence of his wife, the husband
being of sufficient ability; and
(9) For any other gross misbehavior and wickedness, in either of
the parties, repugnant to and in violation of the marriage covenant.
(10) Irreconcilable differences ("No-Fault")
Domicile and residence requirements No complaint for divorce from
the bond of marriage shall be granted unless the plaintiff has been
a domiciled inhabitant of this state and has resided in Rhode Island
for a period of one year next before the filing of the complaint;
provided, that if the defendant has been a domiciled inhabitant of
this state and has resided in this state for the period of one year
next before the filing of the complaint, and is actually served with
process, the previous requirement as to domicile and residence on
the part of the plaintiff is deemed to have been satisfied and
fulfilled; provided, the residence and domicile of any person
immediately prior to the commencement of his or her active service
as a member of the armed forces or of the merchant marine of the
United States, or immediately prior to his or her absence from the
state in the performance of services in connection with military
operations ... shall, for the purposes of this section, continue to
be his or her residence and domicile during the time of his or her
service and for a period of thirty (30) days thereafter. Testimony
to prove domicile and residence may be received through the ex parte
affidavit of one witness. § 15-5-12
Venue All complaints for divorce from the bond of marriage and
from bed and board and complaints for relief without commencement of
divorce proceedings shall be filed in the county in which the
plaintiff is residing unless the complaint is based upon the
residence of the defendant, in which case the complaint shall be
filed in Providence County or in the county in which the defendant
resides. § 15-5-13
Return day of petitions – Notice – Issuance of process –
Hearing (a) The court may by general rule determine the return day
of petitions for divorce and prescribe the notice to be given,
within or without the state, on all petitions, and may issue the
process that may be necessary to carry into effect all powers
conferred upon it in relation to the petitions; and the court may
also, by general rule, fix the times, during its session, when all
petitions for divorce are heard, as they may be filed in Providence,
Newport, East Greenwich, or South Kingstown, respectively. These
general rules are subject to special orders which the court may make
in special cases. Until general rules are made, special order in
each case shall be made.
(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a), no petition for divorce or
separation shall be in order for hearing until after the expiration
of sixty (60) days after the filing of the petition, unless sooner
ordered, ex parte, by a justice of the family court. During this
period the family counselling service may investigate the
circumstances at the discretion of the court, or at the request of
either party, counsel the parties, and make recommendations to the
court and the parties. § 15-5-14
Alimony and counsel fees – Custody of children. In granting any
petition for divorce, divorce from bed and board, or relief without
the commencement of divorce proceedings, the family court may order
either of the parties to pay alimony or counsel fees or both to the
other.
In determining the amount of alimony or counsel fees, if any, to
be paid, the court after hearing the witnesses, if any, of each
party, shall consider:
(i) The length of the marriage;
(ii) The conduct of the parties during the marriage;
(iii) The health, age, station, occupation, amount and source of
income, vocational skills, and employability of the parties; and
(iv) The state and the liabilities and needs of each of the
parties.
In addition, the court shall consider:
(i) The extent to which either party is unable to support herself
or himself adequately because that party is the primary physical
custodian of a child whose age, condition, or circumstances make it
appropriate that the parent not seek employment outside the home, or
seek only part-time or flexible-hour employment outside the home;
(ii) The extent to which either party is unable to support
herself or himself adequately with consideration given to:
(A) The extent to which a party was absent from employment while
fulfilling homemaking responsibilities, and the extent to which any
education, skills, or experience of that party have become outmoded
and his or her earning capacity diminished;
(B) The time and expense required for the supported spouse to
acquire the appropriate education or training to develop marketable
skills and find appropriate employment;
(C) The probability, given a party's age and skills, of
completing education or training and becoming self-supporting;
(D) The standard of living during the marriage;
(E) The opportunity of either party for future acquisition of
capital assets and income;
(F) The ability to pay of the supporting spouse, taking into
account the supporting spouse's earning capacity, earned and
unearned income, assets, debts, and standard of living;
(G) Any other factor which the court expressly finds to be just
and proper.
For the purposes of this section, alimony is construed as
payments for the support or maintenance of either the husband or the
wife. Alimony is designed to provide support for a spouse for a
reasonable length of time to enable the recipient to become
financially independent and self-sufficient. The court may award
alimony for an indefinite period of time when it is appropriate in
the discretion of the court...
In regulating the custody of the children the court shall provide
for the reasonable right of visitation by the natural parent not
having custody of the children except upon the showing of cause why
the right should not be granted. The court shall mandate compliance
with its order by both the custodial parent and the children.
Assignment of property In addition to or in lieu of an order to
pay spousal support made pursuant to a complaint for divorce, the
court may assign to either the husband or wife a portion of the
estate of the other. In determining the nature and value of the
property, if any, to be assigned, the court after hearing the
witnesses, if any, of each party shall consider the following:
(1) The length of the marriage;
(2) The conduct of the parties during the marriage;
(3) The contribution of each of the parties during the marriage
in the acquisition, preservation, or appreciation in value of their
respective estates;
(4) The contribution and services of either party as a homemaker;
(5) The health and age of the parties;
(6) The amount and sources of income of each of the parties;
(7) The occupation and employability of each of the parties;
(8) The opportunity of each party for future acquisition of
capital assets and income;
(9) The contribution by one party to the education, training,
licensure, business, or increased earning power of the other;
(10) The need of the custodial parent to occupy or own the
marital residence and to use or own its household effects, taking
into account the best interests of the children of the marriage;
(11) Either party's wasteful dissipation of assets or any
transfer or encumbrance of assets made in contemplation of divorce
without fair consideration; and
(12) Any factor which the court shall expressly find to be just
and proper. § 15-5-16.1
Child support In a proceeding for divorce, divorce from bed and
board, a miscellaneous petition without the filing of divorce
proceedings, or child support, the court shall order either or both
parents owing a duty of support to a child to pay an amount based
upon a formula and guidelines adopted by an administrative order of
the family court. If, after calculating support based upon court
established formula and guidelines, the court, in its discretion,
finds the order would be inequitable to the child or either parent,
the court shall make findings of fact and shall order either or both
parents owing a duty of support to pay an amount reasonable or
necessary for the child's support after considering all relevant
factors including, but not limited to:
(1) The financial resources of the child;
(2) The financial resources of the custodial parent;
(3) The standard of living the child would have enjoyed had the
marriage not been dissolved;
(4) The physical and emotional condition of the child and his or
her educational needs; and
(5) The financial resources and needs of the non-custodial
parent.
The court may, if in its discretion it deems it necessary or
advisable, order child support and education costs for children
attending high school at the time of their eighteenth (18th)
birthday and for ninety (90) days after graduation, but in no case
beyond their nineteenth (19th) birthday. In addition, the court may
order child support to continue, in the case of a child with a
severe physical or mental impairment, until the twenty-first (21st)
birthday of the child. 15-5-16.2
Change of name Any woman, to whom a divorce from the bond of
marriage is decreed, shall, upon request, be authorized by the
decree to change her name, notwithstanding that there may be
children born of the marriage, and subject to the same rights and
liabilities as if her name had not been changed. This statute is in
addition to, and not in abrogation of, the common law.
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