The division of property
cannot be modified by the Court once agreed upon by the parties except for very
unusual circumstances or for child support, custody and visitation.
Maintenance or spousal
support normally can be for no more than 121 months and must be fair, just and
equitable under all the circumstances and is only possible if the parties are
married. If the parties agree to maintenance, it cannot be increased or
decreased without the consent of both parties. If the Court awarded this
support in a trial, then it can be decreased by the Court but never increased
without the consent of both parties.
Procedures:
Uncontested Divorce:
The parties agree to settle
all matters and enter into a settlement agreement and, if the parties agree, a
divorce can be granted immediately rather than waiting for 60 days after the
petition is filed and neither party has to appear in court to testify.
Contested Divorce:
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Petition is filed along
with restraining orders which control the parties and their property and
debts and sets temporary maintenance and child support, custody and
visitation.
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This paperwork must be
received by the other party.
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Other party has twenty
days to respond to the petition once served with the petition.
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There can be brief
hearings in the courthouse before a Judge on these temporary matters.
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There can be formal
requests for factual information.
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There can be a meeting of
the attorneys and the Judge called a Discovery Conference to identify the
documents, assets, debts, potential witnesses, and subject matter of the
testimony.
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There is another meeting
of all the parties, their attorneys, and a Judge’s administrative assistant
called a Pre-trial Conference to identify problem areas and then prepare for
trial regarding those problem areas.
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The trials are short
usually lasting less than a day.
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There can be appeals but
they are usually unsuccessful.
General Information:
1. Health insurance
for a spouse is terminated upon the divorce being final but there are
continuation and conversion rights and the children can still be covered.
It is important that the insurance company receive the proper notification of
the divorce.
2. The right to
collect child and spousal support can stop if certain steps are not taken when
payments are not made. Therefore, it is important that you contact an
attorney if payments are not made promptly. Interest can be charged if
these debts are not paid on time. Failure to pay support can have severe
economic consequences even beyond the amount ordered by the court.
3. The case remains at
the original Kansas court unless the parties agree to a change or a change to a
different county is ordered by the Court. Usually six months residency is
needed in another state before that state's courts can consider issues regarding
children.
4. Adoption requires
the natural parent's consent unless there is no support or contact with the
child for two consecutive years.
5. Support payments
should be paid through the Kansas Payment Center. If any of the children
have received government aid, then that agency may have a claim to the child
support. Child support stops as a matter of law when the child or either
parent dies, the child is adopted, the child changes residence, or the child
turns 18 unless the child is still in high school and then it lasts until the
end of that school year.
6. Usually the
Sedgwick County Court Trustee monitors, enforces and collects support payments
but a collection fee for this service is deducted from the child support.
However, the parties can agree that there will be no Income Withholding Order.
7. It is advisable to
have a will prepared if there are any minor children. All paperwork such
as insurance policies and title documents should be changed after the divorce.
8. These proceedings
are public record and therefore available for inspection during regular business
hours at the Courthouse.
9. Remarriage can
occur thirty days or later after the divorce becomes final.
