Divorce in the United States is under the jurisdiction of the individual states. There are many different areas that must be considered when you are going through the process of a divorce. Some of these areas are property distribution, child custody and child support. If need be arrangements are also made for spousal support.
No-fault divorce on the grounds of "irreconcilable differences" is now available in all states. This makes one wonder if the ability to just get out of a marriage is to easy. Even though this is true there are still some states that require you to be separated physically and legally for at least one year. Many times during this one-year period couples will tend to get back together.
Ninety percent of divorces in the United States today are settled out of court. This tends to save a lot of money. That means more for both parties of the divorce. Of course, it is easy to settle out of court if there are not a lot of assets to settle on. This type of divorce is an uncontested divorce. Ninety-five percent of divorces are uncontested. When both parties to the divorce can agree regarding property, custody, child support and any alimony it is much easier. If the parties do agree on these matters the court will make sure that it is an equitable agreement for all parties concerned. If the court finds that it is equitable, they will quickly give dissolution of the marriage almost immediately.
Even though the divorce is under the jurisdiction of the states, the federal government has found a way to interject into the laws of divorce. Federal legislation put into affect has changed some of the rights and responsibilities of the divorcing parties. This legislation ensured that there would be child support guidelines put in place in every state. There were also guidelines set up for whether or not alimony would be allowed to be deducted. The IRS developed these guidelines.
In some divorce cases, mediation may be a more beneficial option. It takes away much of the negativity that is usually involved in the divorce. The whole process is usually less expensive and it is easier for the children. If you have your divorce mediated you may find that the court will approve it rather quickly.
One of the most interesting part of a divorce in the United States is people that move to another state to make things go much faster. They just can't get divorced fast enough. Many people will go to Nevada because you only need to prove a residency of six weeks. This is the state that has the shortest residency requirement in the United States. Another factor that makes Nevada look like a greater option is they often allow for an easy bypassing of the mandatory 50/50 split.
So there are a lot of things to consider when you determine that you are going to get a divorce. When you decide to do this check all the state and federal laws.