Arkansas Divorce Laws

Unfortunately, as the years pass marriages can weaken, and divorce levels increase. The Arkansas rate of separations is about 13%, which is higher than the average US rate of 10%. If you are facing divorce, we are here to help you deal with the formalities. This article will address the main points of Arkansas marriage and divorce laws. We hope it will be a handy reference for you that can help you create a dissolution plan.

Residence requirements: Divorce laws in Arkansas

Traditionally, the first question asked in the separation process is if you are a resident of the state. You must have been a resident of Arkansas for sixty days minimum before filing the petition and at least three months before getting the final decision. Arkansas state divorce laws emphasize that no couple can get the final court’s decision sooner than in 30 days.

Grounds for divorce in Arkansas

The state’s law accepts certain reasons for a divorce in Arkansas. They are divided into no-fault and fault-based. When a couple provides the first type, partners do not need to blame each other for breaking up their marriage.

The no-fault procedure is generally the easiest, the cheapest and requires less time. To file for this type of dissolution, you and your spouse must have lived apart for eighteen months or more. AR divorce laws require the breakup to be voluntary, no matter if it is the wish of one partner or both. Nevertheless, if you break the cohabiting rule and live together just for one day, the 18-month period starts over again.

The fault-based procedure includes special points and means that your partner has committed some type of wrongdoing or they are responsible for the breakup. Arkansas law on divorce accepts the following fault-based grounds:

1. Cruelty and “barbarous treatment”, which puts your life in danger
2. Habitual drinking – when your partner is addicted to alcohol
3. Unrecoverable illness, when your husband or wife has lived separately for three years. This should be approved by a mental institution.
4. Impotence
5. Conviction of a crime
6. Humiliation
7. Absence of support – when your partner is obliged to support you and is able to do so but ignores the court’s decision
8. Adultery.

As you can see, Arkansas grounds for divorce include various options, however most couples prefer to apply for the no-fault type.

How do Arkansas divorce laws about adultery affect alimony?

Arkansas has certain regulations regarding the breakups based on the adultery grounds. However, there are a few situations when Arkansas divorce law on adultery states that being unfaithful can’t be the basis of dissolution:

• If the partners planned adultery together or the spouse who was cheated on agreed to it
• If both partners committed adultery
• If one of the partners was unfaithful just to have a ground for a divorce.

In all other cases, adultery can be an approved reason for divorce.

Arkansas divorce laws on alimony generally state that marital misconduct can’t influence future financial support. However, in some cases, it can be a strong factor in deciding future alimony.

Alimony is a kind of financial support which one spouse gives to the other after separation. Such support is provided if one of the partners cannot be economically self-sufficient. For instance, if one spouse was a housekeeper, he or she may have no personal finances. Alimony may be awarded for a certain amount of time until the recipient gets an education or finds a good job.

What are the other cases when adultery results in giving financial support? Let’s imagine the following situation: the partner who was cheated on was so frustrated that they became depressed and lost their job. This means that the cheater will be obliged to pay.

The divorce process in Arkansas: What else do you have to know?

The state considers two types of separation: uncontested and contested. To apply for the first type, you need to reach an agreement with your spouse and decide upon all the details about child custody and visitation, spousal support and division of ownership.

Arkansas divorce law on property division states that all assets may be divided between both partners. The spouses are allowed to keep the property they both had before they were married.

The procedure starts when the plaintiff files a Complaint initiating the breakup. It consists of general data about both partners, informs the court about the reasons for divorce, and includes statements about children. After filing a Complaint and receiving the Summons from the court, the plaintiff must inform their spouse about the process by regular first-class mail or in any other legal way. According to divorce law in Arkansas, the Complaint is not the only required document. The separating couple must prepare many other forms.

Sorting out all the legal details and filling out the papers is usually an exhausting process, but we can help. Our site helps you prepare all the required forms; you just need to fill out our questionnaire and our system will generate the full pack of papers. There is no need to deal with documents concerning Arkansas divorce laws about property or any others. Just click the “start” button and you will receive all the necessary forms after.

Arkansas divorce process – The final steps

After filing all the documents and getting the answer from the defendant, both partners will be involved in the discovery process, which sorts out the remaining details about child custody and financial evaluation.

If the partners are not able to deal with all their issues, they will attend a trial and represent their positions to the circuit court. Otherwise, the case may be finished without a trial.

According to Arkansas divorce laws, the waiting period is never less than 30 days. If you have a complicated case, it may take longer. However, if we compare them to the waiting time in various states, the trial decisions in Arkansas are particularly quick.

States divorce law