Rhode Island Experienced Divorce Attorney

In addition to criminal defense, our firm specializes in family court matters and divorces. If you are seeking an attorney to assist you in your divorce, you need the help of an experienced attorney on your side. We try to keep the divorce moving forward and get it resolved quickly and cost efficiently. Most of our divorce cases are resolved at the first or second court appearance. Our firm can assist you with the following:

Rhode Island Divorce Facts

Residency Requirements for Divorce in Rhode Island

To obtain a divorce in Rhode Island, you must reside in the State for at least one (1) year prior to filing. However, if you have not lived in the State for the requisite time, you may file for separation. Rhode Island courts generally grant all divorces on the grounds of “irreconcilable differences” whether or not other grounds are alleged.

What the Legal Divorce Process is Like in Rhode Island

  1. Initial Consultation: First, you will meet with the Law Offices of Stefanie A. Murphy for your FREE consultation. During this consultation, you will have the opportunity to meet with your lawyer face-to-face or via Zoom (COVID dependent and/or what you feel most comfortable with) and we will briefly discuss the particulars of your case. This will likely include why you are seeking a divorce, how long you have been married for, whether or not there were children born into the marriage, any joint assets and debts, fee arrangements, etc.
  2. Other Meetings: It is important you keep in contact with your lawyer, whether doing so entails texts, calls, or in-office meetings to make sure everybody is on the same page. This is especially important if children are involved. If you have minor children that were born into the marriage, it is essential for us to determine child support calculations using Rhode Island’s Child Support guidelines based on your income and number of children. Further, if you choose to do so, we can arrange for you to meet with an experienced financial advisor in-office to discuss marital assets, debts, property division, etc.
  3. Court Documents: It is important you keep in contact with your lawyer, whether doing so entails texts, calls, or in-office meetings to make sure everybody is on the same page. This is especially important if children are involved. If you have minor children that were born into the marriage, it is essential for us to determine child support calculations using Rhode Island’s Child Support guidelines based on your income and number of children. Further, if you choose to do so, we can arrange for you to meet with an experienced financial advisor in-office to discuss marital assets, debts, property division, etc.
  4. Working Together: We will be sure to work with your spouse and opposing counsel, if present, to come up with a proposed marital settlement agreement that you feel comfortable with. The contents of marital settlement agreements vary depending on the particular circumstances of a case; however, marital settlement agreements often address marital residence(s), motor vehicles, joint accounts, retirement accounts, medical insurance, marital assets and debts, spousal support and alimony, child support and visitation, etc.
  5. First Court Appearance: According to Rhode Island General Laws (“RIGL”) § 15-5-22, both spouses must appear in court in order for their divorce to be granted. This means a divorce cannot be granted in Rhode Island via paperwork alone. After coming up with a proposed marital settlement agreement, we will appear before the court. At this hearing, the judge will acknowledge for the record that you and your spouse have entered into a voluntary marital settlement agreement that is fair and reasonable.
  6. Waiting Period: After this preliminary hearing, you must wait a minimum of three (3) months before appearing before the court again (RIGL §15-5-23). This three-month waiting period is required by Rhode Island Law; it cannot be shortened. In the meantime, the judge will issue something called a Decision Pending Final Judgment.
  7. Entry and Order of Final Judgment: After the requisite three (3) month waiting period, you will go before the judge with both parties and counsel present and the judge will issue a Final Judgment so long as s/he finds that there is nothing that would forbid a final judgment from being entered. Once the judge signs off on this, a final judgment is entered, and the parties are legally divorced.

Premarital Agreements

Premarital agreements are generally valid devices to resolve disputes between spouses in the event of divorce. Under Rhode Island’s Uniform Premarital Agreement Act, a premarital agreement can cover a broad range of issues including, but not limited to:

Postnuptial Agreements

Postnuptial agreements (also known as marital settlement agreements) are contracts between spouses made after the marriage takes place. These agreements often outline distribution of assets and spousal support in the event of divorce and even provisions concerning the parties’ minor children. However, any family court judge may deviate from the agreed-upon postnuptial agreements in the event s/he finds the agreement goes against the best interests of the child(ren).

Changing Your Name Post-Divorce

Where a spouse has taken his or her spouse’s surname name upon marriage, that spouse may change his/her name; s/he may resume use of his/her maiden, or prior legal, name with the court’s permission and is subject to the same rights and liabilities as if his/her name had never been changed. This is something that must be requested in your Marital Settlement Agreement.

Child Support, Custody, and Visitation

Where a spouse has taken his or her spouse’s surname name upon marriage, that spouse may change his/her name; s/he may resume use of his/her maiden, or prior legal, name with the court’s permission and is subject to the same rights and liabilities as if his/her name had never been changed. This is something that must be requested in your Marital Settlement Agreement.

As a general rule, both legal parents of a minor child are obligated to support their child(ren) unless a minor child has been legally emancipated. This is relatively rare, however. Child support orders are issued after consideration of the State of Rhode Island’s child support guidelines. There is a presumption that the child support order reflects the proper amount if computed according to the guidelines. If the court chooses to deviate from the guidelines, it must provide a written explanation for doing so.

Custody entails both the right to physical custody as well as the care, custody, and control regarding the child(ren)’s health, education, and welfare. Joint custody refers to the shared physical custody or shared parenting time AND/OR shared decision-making power as described above. Sharing either, or both, constitutes “joint custody”. The most common joint custody arrangement is where one parent has primary physical custody while the other has significant periods of physical custody and both parents share decision-making power.

Child Custody always boils down to the best interests of the child(ren). In determining whether or not this standard is met, Rhode Island courts consider the following:

The court may modify a custody order upon proof of a material and substantial change in circumstances that a change in custody is conducive to the best interests of the child. Generally, Rhode Island courts require that such circumstances were unforeseeable at the time of the original custody order.

The non-custodial parent will generally be granted reasonable visitation rights unless the court finds that the visitation is detrimental to the best interests of the child. It should be noted that significant deference is given to a legal parent’s wishes and objections to visitation (i.e. opposition to grandparent visitation, etc.).

Rhode Island Divorce Forms

To get a divorce in Rhode Island, one spouse must file for divorce with the Rhode Island Family Court. This spouse is referred to as the “plaintiff”. The non-filing spouse is the “defendant”.

There are certain steps the plaintiff must take to successfully file for divorce. The plaintiff must submit a copy of the marriage certificate (if the plaintiff doesn’t have access to the marriage certificate, s/he may obtain a certified copy from the town that issued the marriage license), pay a filing fee, and electronically submit the following forms to the Rhode Island Family Court:

1. Civil Case Cover Sheet
2. Divorce Complaint
3. Statements of Assets, Liabilities, Income and Expenses (“DR-6”)
4. Statement Listing Children

Civil Case Cover Sheet

As of 2014, The Rhode Island Family Court transitioned from a paper system to an electronic filing system. That being said, whenever a new civil case is filed with the court, including divorce, the plaintiff must submit a Civil Cover Sheet. See sample form.

Civil Cover Sheet Form

Divorce Complaint

This is the form that initiates the divorce. Rhode Island is a “no fault” state, meaning the most common grounds for a divorce are “irreconcilable differences, which have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage”. In other words, a “fault” is no longer a divorce requirement in Rhode Island. However, though rare, plaintiff may list a fault-based ground to include adultery, impotency, cruelty, continued drunkenness, habitual/excessive and intemperate substance abuse, neglect, gross misbehavior, etc.

The plaintiff decides whether s/he wishes to put the divorce on the nominal or contested track. Generally, you should place your case on the nominal track if you and your spouse share an understanding/agreement regarding the division of assets and matters concerning your children (i.e. child custody, visitation, child support). However, you should place your case on the contested track if there is a dispute regarding any of these issues. See sample form.

Divorce Complaint Form

DR-6 Form

A Statement of Assets, Liabilities, Income and Expenses Form, more commonly known as a DR-6 form, is a form both parties to a divorce must fill out. It should be filed with answers or counterclaims and essentially outlines an individual’s assets. It is important you fill out this form accurately and to the best of your ability. The purpose of this form is to give the court a true accounting of your finances. See sample form.

DR-6 Form

Statement Listing Children

This form must be completed and submitted with every divorce complaint — whether or not you have children. If you have minor children born into the marriage, you must list their names, address, and date of birth. If you don’t have children or your children have reached the age of majority, you must simply write “not applicable”. See sample form.

Statement Listing Children Form

Looking for A Rhode Island Divorce Lawyer? Call the Law Offices of Stefanie A. Murphy

At the Law Offices of Stefanie A. Murphy, our attorneys can help support you through the often-difficult process of ending your marriage. Contact our firm today to take advantage of the FREE consultation and learn about your rights and the legal system so you can make an informed decision regarding your divorce. Attorney Stefanie A. Murphy has handled many divorce cases throughout her many years of practice.