Washington DC Divorce Laws
State Divorce Laws: Washington D.C.
Residency and Filing Requirements: In order to file for a divorce in
Washington D.C., residency requirements must be met for the court to accept
the case. If the court discovers it does not have jurisdictional rights to
hear the case it will not be accepted or it will eventually be dismissed. The
requirements are as follows:
Either spouse must be a resident for at least 6 months prior to filing for a
divorce. All active military members that are stationed in Washington D.C. are
considered a residents as long as they have been stationed for at least 6
months. (District of Columbia Code - Title 16 - Chapter 9 - Sections: 902)
Grounds for Filing: The Complaint for Divorce must declare the
appropriate Washington D.C. grounds upon which the divorce is being sought.
The appropriate lawful ground will be that which the parties agree upon and
can substantiate, or that which the filing spouse desires to prove to the
court. The divorce grounds are as follows:
A divorce will be granted by the court on the following grounds:
No-Fault:
(1) Mutual voluntary separation without cohabitation for 6 months; (2)
living separate and apart without cohabitation for 1 year. "Living separate
and apart" may be accomplished under the same roof, if the spouses do not
share bed or food.
Fault:
(1) Mutual voluntary separation without cohabitation for 6 months and (2)
living separate and apart without cohabitation for 1 year are the only grounds
for divorce in Washington D.C. (District of Columbia Code - Title 16 - Chapter
9 - Sections: 904, 905, 906)
Filing Spouse Title: Plaintiff. The Plaintiff is the spouse who
initiates the filing procedure with the family law or domestic relations
court.
Non-Filing Spouse Title: Defendant. The Defendant is the spouse who
does not file the initial divorce papers, but rather receives them by service.
Court Name: In the Superior Court of the District of Columbia-Family
Division. This is the Washington D.C. court where the divorce will be filed.
The court will assign a case number and have jurisdictional rights to
facilitate and grant the orders concerning, but not limited to: property and
debt division, support, custody, and visitation. The name of the court is
clearly represented at the top of all documents that are filed.
Primary Documents: Complaint for Divorce and Final Decree of Divorce.
These are the essential documents needed to start and finalize a divorce
according to Washington D.C. law. There are anywhere from ten to twenty other
documents that may be required throughout the filing process. A few other
documents that are typically filed during the process are: Affidavit of
Corroborating Witness, Marital Settlement Agreement, Financial Affidavit, and
Affidavit Regarding the Children.
Court Clerk's Title: County Clerk's Office of the Family Court. The
clerk or the clerk's assistants will be the people managing your paperwork
with the court. The clerk's office will keep the parties and the lawyers
informed throughout the process in regards to additional paperwork that is
needed, further requirements, and hearing dates and times.
Property Distribution: Since Washington D.C. is an "equitable
distribution" state, the marital property shall be divided in an equitable
fashion. Equitable does not mean equal, but rather what is fair. The court
will encourage the parties to reach a settlement on property and debt issues
otherwise the court will declare the property award.
If the parties have not stipulated to a property settlement, the court will
distinguish what property is separate and what is marital. Separate property
includes, but is not limited to, any property acquired prior to the marriage,
gifts, and inheritances. Any property other than separate property will be
divided equitably by the court after considering the following factors: (1)
the contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of the marital property,
including the contribution of each spouse as homemaker; (2) the duration of
the marriage; (3) the spous'es occupations; (4) the vocational skills of the
spouses; (5) the employability of the spouses; (6) the estate, liabilities,
and needs of each spouse and the opportunity of each for further acquisition
of capital assets and income; (7) the separate property and debts of the
spouses; (8) any prior marriage of each spouse; (9) whether the property award
is instead of or in addition to alimony; (10) any custodial provisions for the
children; (11) the age and health of the spouses; and (12) the amount and
sources of income of the spouses. (District of Columbia Code - Title 16 -
Chapter 9 - Sections: 910)
Restoration or Name Change: Upon filing for a divorce, either spouse
may restore their name to their former or maiden name. (District of Columbia
Code - Title 16 - Chapter 9 - Sections: 915)
Spousal Support: Not all cases involve support from one spouse to the
other. The obligation of one spouse to support the other financially for a
temporary or permanent basis is decided on a case-by-case basis as agreed to
by the parties or at the court's discretion.
The court may, at its discretion, may order temporary or permanent alimony
during a divorce proceeding if it feels it is appropriate. In making such an
award, the court will consider a number of economic factors, but marital fault
is not a consideration. (District of Columbia Code - Title 16 - Chapter 9 -
Sections: 911, 912)
Counseling or Mediation Requirements: If the divorce involves minor
children, the court may order that one parent or both parents attend a short
parenting education class prior to the divorce being finalized. (District of
Columbia Code - Title 16 - Chapter 9 - Sections: 911)
Child Custody: When minor children are involved in a divorce, the
Washington D.C. courts will do everything possible to help lessen the
emotional trauma the children may be experiencing. If the parents cannot come
to an agreement regarding the issues involving the children, the court will
establish the custody order at its discretion.
If the parents are in dispute regarding the custody of the children, the court
will make the custody award with the best interest of the children at the
forefront of the decision. Each parent is given equal consideration by
considering the following factors: (a) the child's wishes, if the child is of
sufficient age and capacity; (b) the wishes of the parents; (c) the child's
adjustment to his or her home, school, and community; (d) the mental and
physical health of all individuals involved; (e) the relationship of the child
with parents, siblings, and other significant family members; (f) the
willingness of the parents to share custody; (g) the prior involvement of the
parent in the child's life; (h) the geographical proximity of the parents; (9)
the sincerity of the parent's request; (i) the age and number of children; (j)
the demands of parental employment; (k) the impact on any welfare benefits;
(l) any evidence of spousal or child abuse; (m) the capacity of the parents to
communicate and reach shared decisions affecting the child's welfare; (n) the
potential disruption of the child's social and school life; and (o) the
parent's abililty to financially support a joint custody arrangement. There is
a rebuttable presumption that joint interest is in the best interests of the
child unless child abuse, neglect, parental kidnapping or other intrafamily
violence has occurred. The court may order the parents to submit a written
parenting plan for custody. (District of Columbia Code - Title 16 - Chapter 9
- Sections: 911, 914)
Child Support: Washington D.C. child support guidelines uses the
Percentage of Income formula which calculates the support obligation as a
percentage of the income of the non-custodial parent who is obligated to
support the child. This method simply applies a percentage to the income of
the parent according to the number of children requiring support.
The court will determine the support amount according to the current child
support guidelines that are in place. If the court finds that the calculated
amount is not appropriate form a specific case, it shall deviate from that
amount by considering the following deviation factors: (a) the child's needs
are exceptional; (b) the non-custodial parent's income is substantially less
than the custodial parent's income; (c) a property settlement between the
parents provides resources for the child above the minimum support
requirements; (d) the non-custodial parent provides support for other
dependents and the guideline amounts would cause hardship; (e) the
non-custodial parent needs a temporary reduction [of no longer than 12 months]
in support payments to repay a substantial debt; (f) the custodial parent
provides medical insurance coverage; (g) the custodial parent receives child
support payments for other children and the custodial parent's household
income is substantially greater than that of the non-custodial parent; and (h)
any other extraordinary factors. Child support may be ordered to be paid
through the Clerk of the Superior Court. (District of Columbia Code - Title 16
- Chapter 9 - Sections: 911, 916)
Copyright Notice: The above synopsis of Washington D.C. divorce laws
is original material which is owned an copyrighted by Divorce Source, Inc.
This material has been adpated from applicable state laws and unauthorized
reproduction is prohibited. Violation of this notice will result in immediate
legal action.
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