Delaware divorce statutes § 2204. Support payments.
(a) In compliance with federal and state law, the Division of Child Support Enforcement is authorized to receive and disburse support payments made on behalf of each obligee who is a recipient of public assistance, who signs an application to the Division for child support services pursuant to Title IV-D of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. § 651 et seq.), or
who receives child support pursuant to an income withholding order issued by the Court or Division pursuant to § 513 of this title.
(b) In all cases in which the Division is authorized pursuant to subsection (a) of this section to receive and disburse support payments, the Division may administratively change the payee to the Division. Such change shall not occur until the Division has provided prior notice of the change to all parties under the support order and offered an opportunity for any party to contest the change in payee. The Division shall establish procedures for a party to challenge the administrative change in payee.
(c) A child support obligor shall have no right of reimbursement from the Division of Child Support Enforcement for any child support payment received and disbursed by the Division to an
obligee who is not a recipient of public assistance. (d) Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation to the contrary, a child support payment shall not be subject to attachment, garnishment or execution.
(e) In all cases in which the Division administratively changes the payee pursuant to subsection (b) of
this section, the Division shall provide notice to all parties under the support order of the date of the obligor's final payment at the following times, when applicable:
(1) Six months from the date of the final payment;
(2) Three months from the date of the final payment; and
(3) Upon receipt of the final payment.
(f) The Division shall establish procedures for applying the notice requirements as listed in subsection (e) of this section.
(g) In all cases when a child support wage attachment is in place, the Division shall immediately notify the noncustodial parent's employer to immediately terminate the wage withholding when the parent's child support obligation has been satisfied.
(h) The Division may recoup payments that it has received and disbursed to a payee but which the payee was not entitled to receive under the child support order. The Division shall give prior written notice to the payee of its intent to recoup. The notice shall state the amount the Division intends to recoup and how it was determined, the manner in which the Division intends to recoup the funds, and inform the payee of that payee's right to an administrative hearing prior to any recoupment. If the payee fails to timely request a hearing, recoupment may proceed as described in the notice.
The Division may recoup such payments by withholding not more than 10% of each disbursement due to the payee until the Division is reimbursed in full. Except as otherwise provided herein, all hearings and proceedings under this subsection shall be in accordance with the provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act, Chapter 101 of Title 29. Recoupment shall not apply to payments received and disbursed pursuant to the terms of a child support order that is later modified.
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Delaware divorce statutes CHAPTER 7. PARENTS
AND CHILDREN Subchapter II. Custody Proceedings § 721.
(a) A child custody proceeding is commenced in the Family Court of the State, or as otherwise provided by law, by a parent filing a petition seeking custody of the child in the county where the child is permanently a resident or where he or she is found.
(b) Notice of a child custody proceeding shall be given to the child's parent, guardian and custodian, who may appear and be heard and may file a responsive pleading. The Court may, upon a showing of good cause, permit the intervention of other interested parties.
(c) The Court may, in the interest of the child, appoint an attorney to represent the child in the proceedings. A fee for an attorney so appointed shall be allowed as part of the costs of the proceeding.
(d) Upon the filing of a petition for custody or visitation, a preliminary injunction shall be issued against both parties to the action, enjoining them from removing any natural or adopted child of the parties then residing in Delaware from the jurisdiction of this Court without the prior written consent of the parties or the permission of the Court. The preliminary injunction shall be effective against the petitioner upon the filing of the petition for custody or visitation and upon the respondent
upon service of a copy of the petition. (e) A custody proceeding between parents shall be determined in accordance with §§ 722,
729 and Chapter 7A of this title, whichever shall apply. 59 Del. Laws, c. 569, § 4; 66 Del. Laws, c. 312, § 1;
67 Del. Laws, c. 236, § 1; 69 Del. Laws, c. 309, §§ 1, 2; 70 Del. Laws, c. 186, § 1; 77 Del. Laws, c. 43, § 4.; § 722.
Best interests of child.
(a) The Court shall determine the legal custody and residential arrangements for a child in accordance with the best interests of the child. In determining the best interests of the child, the Court shall consider all relevant factors including:
(1) The wishes of the child's parent or parents as to his or her custody and residential arrangements;
(2) The wishes of the child as to his or her custodian or custodians and residential arrangements;
(3) The interaction and interrelationship of the child with his or her parents, grandparents, siblings, persons cohabiting in the relationship of husband and wife with a parent of the child, any other residents of the household or persons who may significantly affect the child's best interests;
(4) The child's adjustment to his or her home, school and community;
(5) The mental and physical health of all individuals involved;
(6) Past and present compliance by both parents with their rights and responsibilities
to their child under § 701 of this title;
(7) Evidence of domestic violence as provided for in Chapter 7A of this title;
and
(8) The criminal history of any party or any other resident of the household including whether the criminal history contains pleas of guilty or no contest or a conviction of a criminal offense. (b) The Court shall not presume that a parent, because of his or her sex, is better qualified than the other parent to act as a joint or sole legal custodian for a child or as the child's primary residential parent, nor shall it consider conduct of a proposed sole or joint custodian or primary residential
parent that does not affect his or her relationship with the child.
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Delaware divorce statutes § 1506. Annulment.
(a) The Court shall enter a decree of annulment of a marriage entered into under any of the following circumstances:
(1) A party lacked capacity to consent to the marriage at the time the marriage was solemnized, either because of mental incapacity or infirmity, or because of the influence of alcohol, drugs or other incapacitating substances;
(2) A party lacked the physical capacity to consummate the marriage by sexual intercourse and the other party did not, at the time the marriage was solemnized, know of the incapacity;
(3) A party was less than legal age and did not have the consent of his or her parents or guardian or judicial approval as provided by law;
(4) One party entered into the marriage in reliance upon a fraudulent act or representation of the other party, which fraudulent act or representation goes to the essence of the marriage;
(5) One or both parties entered into the marriage under duress exercised by the other party, or a third party, whether or not such other party knew of such exercise of duress;
(6) One or both parties entered into the marriage as a jest or dare; or
(7) The marriage is prohibited and void or voidable as provided in § 101 of this title.
(b) A decree of annulment may be sought by any of the following persons, and a petition therefore must be
filed within the times specified below, but in no event may a decree of annulment be sought after the death of either party
to the marriage, except as provided in this section:
(1) For the reasons set forth in either paragraph (a)(1), (4), (5) or (6) of this section, by either party to the marriage who was aggrieved by the condition or conditions, or by the legal representative of the party who lacked capacity to consent, no later than 90 days after petitioner obtained knowledge of the described condition.
(2) For the reason set forth in paragraph (a)(2) of this section, by either party no later than 1 year after petitioner obtained knowledge of the described condition.
(3) For the reason set forth in paragraph (a)(3) of this section, by the under aged party, his or her parent
or guardian, no later than 1 year after the date the marriage was entered into.
(4) A decree of annulment for the reason set forth in paragraph (a)(7) of this section may be sought by either party, by the legal spouse in case of bigamous, polygamous or incestuous marriages, by the appropriate state official, or by a child of either party at any time prior to the death of either party or prior to the final settlement of the estate of either party and the discharge of the personal representative, executor or administrator of the estate, or prior to 6 months after an order of distribution is made under Chapter 23 of Title 12.
(c) Children born of an annulled marriage are legitimate. Marriages annulled under this section shall be so declared as of the date of the marriage.
(d) The provisions of this chapter relating to the property rights of spouses are applicable to annulment.
(e) "Separation" as defined in § 1503(7) of this title is inapplicable to annulment proceedings; and a petition may be filed whenever a circumstance exists as defined by, and within the time limit specified in, this section.
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Delaware divorce statutes § 1513. Disposition of marital
property; imposition of lien; insurance policies.
(a) In a proceeding for divorce or annulment, the Court shall, upon request of either party, equitably divide, distribute and assign the marital property between the parties without regard to marital misconduct, in such proportions as the Court deems just after considering all relevant factors including:
(1) The length of the marriage;
(2) Any prior marriage of the party;
(3) The age, health, station, amount and sources of income, vocational skills, employability, estate, liabilities and needs of each of the parties;
(4) Whether the property award is in lieu of or in addition to alimony;
(5) The opportunity of each for future acquisitions of capital assets and income;
(6) The contribution or dissipation of each party in the acquisition,
preservation, depreciation or appreciation of the marital property, including the contribution of a party as homemaker, husband, or wife;
(7) The value of the property set apart to each party;
(8) The economic circumstances of each party at the time the division of property is to become effective, including the desirability of awarding the family home or the right to live therein for reasonable periods to the party with whom any children of the marriage will live;
(9) Whether the property was acquired by gift, except those gifts excluded by paragraph (b)(1) of this section;
(10) The debts of the parties; and
(11) Tax consequences. (b) For purposes of this chapter only, "marital property" means all property acquired by either party subsequent to the marriage except:
(1) Property acquired by an individual spouse by bequest, devise or descent or by
gift, except gifts between spouses, provided the gifted property is titled and maintained in the sole name of the donee spouse, or a gift tax return is filed reporting the transfer of the gifted property in the sole name of the donee spouse or a notarized document, executed before or contemporaneously with the transfer, is offered demonstrating the nature of the transfer.
(2) Property acquired in exchange for property acquired prior to the marriage;
(3) Property excluded by valid agreement of the parties; and
(4) The increase in value of property acquired prior to the marriage.
(c) All property acquired by either party subsequent to the marriage is presumed to be marital property regardless of whether title is held individually or by the parties in some form of co-ownership such as joint tenancy, tenancy in common or tenancy by the entirety. The presumption of marital property is overcome by a showing that the property was acquired by a method listed in paragraphs (b)(1) through (4) of this section. Property transferred by gift from 1 spouse to the other during the marriage is marital property.
(d) The Court may also impose a lien or charge upon the marital property assigned to a party as security for the payment of alimony or other allowance or award for the other party.
(e) The Court may also direct the continued maintenance and beneficiary designations of existing policies insuring the life of either party. The Court's power under this subsection shall extend only to policies originally purchased during the marriage and owned by or within the effective control of either party.
(f) The Court may order a party to execute and deliver any deed, document
or other paper necessary to effectuate an order entered under this chapter, and if the party so ordered fails to do what he or she has been ordered to do, the Court, in addition to any penalty or sanction it may decide to impose upon that party for such disobedience, may direct the Clerk of the Court to do what the party was ordered to do, and such performance by the Clerk shall be as effective as the performance of the party would have been.
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Divorce statutes in Delaware § 1505. Divorce;
marriage irretrievably broken and reconciliation improbable; defenses; efforts at reconciliation.
(a) The Court shall enter a decree of divorce whenever it finds that the marriage is irretrievably broken and that reconciliation is improbable.
(b) A marriage is irretrievably broken where it is characterized by:
(1) Voluntary separation; or
(2) Separation caused by respondent's misconduct; or
(3) Separation caused by respondent's mental illness; or
(4) Separation caused by incompatibility.
(c) Previously existing defenses to divorce of condonation, connivance, recrimination, insanity and lapse of time are preserved but only with respect to marriages characterized under paragraph (b)(2) of this
section.
(d) The only defense to a divorce action shall be the failure to establish either:
(1) The marriage of the parties; or
(2) Jurisdictional requirements of § 1504 of this title; or
(3) That the marriage is irretrievably broken; or
(4) A defense permitted under subsection (c) of this section because of the characterization of the marriage under paragraph (b)(2) of this section.
(e) Bona fide efforts to achieve reconciliation prior to divorce, even those that include, temporarily, sleeping in the same bedroom and resumption of sexual relations, shall not interrupt any period of living separate and apart, provided that the parties have not occupied the same bedroom or had sexual relations with each other within the 30-day period
immediately preceding the day the Court hears the petition for divorce.
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Delaware divorce statutes § 1504. Jurisdiction;
residence; procedure.
(a) The Family Court of the State has jurisdiction over all actions for divorce and annulment of marriage where either petitioner or respondent, at the time the action was commenced, actually resided in this State, or was stationed in this State as a member of the armed services of the United States, continuously for 6 or more months immediately preceding the commencement of the action.
(b) The procedure in divorce and annulment shall conform to the rules of the Court where the same do not contravene this title.
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Delaware divorce statutes Sec. 46b-67. (Formerly
Sec. 46-44). Waiting period. Effect of decree.
(a) Following the expiration of ninety days after the day on which a complaint for dissolution or legal separation is made returnable, or after the expiration of six months, where proceedings have been stayed under section 46b-53, the court may proceed on the complaint, or whenever dissolution is claimed under cross complaint, amended complaint or amended cross complaint, the case may be heard and a decree granted thereon after the expiration of the ninety days and twenty days after the cross complaint, amended complaint or amended cross complaint has been filed with the court, provided the requirement of the twenty-day delay shall not apply
(1) whenever opposing counsel, having appeared, consents to the cross complaint, amended complaint or amended cross complaint, or
(2) where the defendant has not appeared and the amendment does not set forth either a cause of action or a claim for relief not in the original complaint. Nothing in this section shall prevent any interlocutory proceedings within the ninety-day period.
(b) A decree of annulment or dissolution shall give the parties the status of unmarried persons and they may marry again. A decree of legal separation shall have the effect of a decree dissolving the marriage except that neither party shall be free to marry. Neither the ninety-day period specified in this section nor the six-month period referred to in section 46b-53 shall apply in actions for annulment and the court may proceed on any cause of action for annulment in the manner generally applicable in civil actions.
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The Delaware divorce laws that
appear here may not include all provisions of Family Law. Some
redacting has occurred.
You should consult the code or a Delaware divorce attorney.
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