| Children as Witnesses in Divorce Proceedings |
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| In recent years, children have increasingly been called upon to be witnesses in their parents' divorce proceedings. In some contested fault-based divorces, children have supplied testimony as to cruelty or adultery by one of the spouses. In other instances, children have been a part of custody matters, including offering testimony as to being poorly supervised by one of their parents and as to any neglectful conditions in the family home. More... |
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| Fault-Based Divorce: Impotence |
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| Impotence of either spouse is considered as one of the traditional fault grounds for divorce, and it remains a ground for fault-based divorce in some states. Some of those states allow grounds for annulment also to be grounds for fault-based divorce, and that includes impotence. In those states, the marriage is voidable if the afflicted spouse is found to have been impotent at the time of marriage and to have remained impotent up to the time the petition is filed. Generally, the petitioning spouse must prove that the impotent spouse is incapable of having sexual intercourse in order to get a divorce on this ground. Some of the states that retain impotence as a ground for divorce require that the impotence be permanent and incurable. In the case of the impotent husband, the advent of drugs to treat erectile dysfunction may affect that standard. More... |
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| Imprisonment as Grounds for Annulment of Marriage |
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| Annulment is very different from divorce, even though some grounds for annulment are similar to divorce. Some grounds available in divorce are not available in annulment. In most states, if a spouse is convicted for a serious crime and imprisoned consecutively for three years, imprisonment can be a ground for a divorce. While imprisonment is generally not a ground for annulment of marriage, in some states, if the defendant conceals his or her criminal record such as conviction and imprisonment from another spouse, this is considered fraud and can be grounds for annulment. Further, in some states, inmates imprisoned for life may not marry. More... |
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| Temporary Order for Protection of the Person in Divorce |
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| In the divorce context, a temporary order for personal protection (sometimes called a "restraining order") is a court order prohibiting a spouse from contacting or harming the other spouse. Protection orders are common in situations involving spousal abuse or harassment. The orders usually are kept in place for the duration of the divorce case. More... |
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| Alimony: Reimbursement Support |
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| Reimbursement support is one way in which a spouse (the paying spouse) who received the other spouse's (the receiving spouse's) monetary support during marriage repays that support after the parties divorce. The benefit rendered could be in the form of educational costs, money spent toward establishing or operating a business for the supported spouse, and similar types of support. To be eligible for reimbursement support, the benefits should have been received during the marriage, and the receiving spouse should have provided most of the family support during the marriage period in question. More... |
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