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3. A divorce and annulment are basically
the same except for grounds. A divorce and separate maintenance are
basically the same except that in separate maintenance cases neither
party can marry another person, the parties still have a married
status for taxes, there can be continuing health insurance coverage,
and each party can be responsible for the other party's medical
bills in some cases.
4. The person filing a divorce (but not separate maintenance or
annulment) must have lived in Kansas 60 days before filing the
action or be stationed at a military base in Kansas. If the other
party does not reside in Kansas, there may be limitations on the
power of the Kansas court to issue orders involving persons or
property not located or having significant contacts in Kansas.
5. The Court may divide all property and
debt of the parties, including retirement accounts and professional
goodwill, regardless of the form of title or how or when acquired,
based on a division in kind; giving property to one and money to the
other; or sale of property and divide proceeds of sale. The Court
uses the following information to divide the property:
• Age of parties;
• Duration of the marriage;
• Property owned by the parties;
• Their present and future earning capacities;
• Time, source and manner of acquisition of property;
• Family ties and obligations;
• Allowance of maintenance or lack thereof;
• Dissipation of assets;
• Tax consequences of the property division;
• Such other factors as the court considers necessary to
make a just and reasonable division of property.
The division of property and debt cannot
be modified by the Court once agreed upon by the parties except for
very unusual circumstances. However, orders involving child support,
custody and visitation are always subject to future modification.
Maintenance or spousal support payments
must be fair, just and equitable under all the circumstances and are
only possible if the parties are married. Normally these payments
are limited to no more than 121 months and 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. See
Kansas Uncontested Online Divorce
for more information.
Contested Divorce:
• 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.
• This paperwork must be received by the
other party.
• Other party has twenty days to respond
to the petition once served with the summons and petition.
• There can be brief hearings in the
courthouse before a Judge on these temporary matters.
• There can be formal requests for
factual information.
• 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.
• 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.
• The trials are short usually lasting
less than a day.
• There can be appeals but they are
usually unsuccessful.
General Information:
1. Health insurance for a spouse is usually terminated upon the
divorce being final but there are continuation and conversion rights
such as COBRA 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 the Court
orders a change to a different county. 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 at least two consecutive years.
5. Support payments are normally 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 court documents are available for inspection during
regular business hours at the Courthouse.
9. Remarriage can occur thirty days or
later after the divorce becomes final, however, this waiting period
may be waived by the parties if this waiver is stated in the Decree.
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