Vermont Divorce Laws- Dissolution of Marriage

Vermont Child Support

Vermont divorce laws specify that one or both parents may be required to pay monies toward the support of the children. An arithmetic formula taken directly from these Vermont divorce laws and is applied in most cases. The court will consider the following factors, and when warranted use alternative measurements to determine the total support obligation and how it applies individually.

	The financial resources of the child.
	The financial resources of the custodial parent.
	The standard of living the child would have enjoyed had the marital relationship not been discontinued.
	The physical and emotional condition of the child.
	The educational needs of the child.
	The financial resources and needs of the non custodial parent.
	Inflation.
	The costs of meeting the educational needs of either parent, if the costs are incurred for the purpose of increasing the earning capacity of the parent.
	Extraordinary travel and other travel-related expenses incurred in exercising the right to parent-child contact.
	Any other factors the court finds relevant.

If the parties agree, the court may include in the Vermont child support order an additional amount designated for the purpose of providing for post secondary education.

Vermont divorce law sets the condition when each parent has physical custody of the children for 30 percent or more of a calendar year, the total child support obligation gets increased by 50 percent to reflect the additional costs of maintaining two households. Each parental support obligation will be determined by dividing the total support obligation between the parents in proportion to their respective available incomes and in proportion to the amount of time each parent exercises physical custody. The parental support obligations will then be offset, with the parent owing the larger amount being required to pay the difference between the two amounts to the other parent.

Vermont divorce laws provide that in cases where a marriage annulment or marital annulment is sought, and there are children of the marriage, that those children be afforded the same rights, protections and parental financial support, including that the children are not considered illegitimate offspring of the parents, that other children of the state receive.

Vermont child support ends at age 18 or graduation from a secondary school (high school or high school equivalent).

Vermont Child Custody

With Vermont Family Laws guiding its courts, judges will award child custody to the parents considering the following factors:

	the relationship of the child with each parent and how each parent is likely or not likely to provide the child with love, affection and guidance,
	how likely it is that each parent can provide the necessities of life (adequate food, clothing, medical care, other material needs and a safe environment),
	how likely it is that each parent can meet the present and future needs of the child(ren),
	how likely it is that the child(ren) will be able to adapt under a scenario having two separate homes as opposed to an unchanged situation that wouldn't require living in two separate locations,
	Whether or not each parent is willing able and capable of fostering a frequent and positive relationship with the other parent,
	How cooperative the parents appear in considering the child(ren)'s growth and well-being.

Vermont statutes allow that courts can make decisions about child custody and the care of your children if you can't reach agreement with your spouse. Those agreements come in the form of a Parenting Plan, Child Custody Agreement or Visitation Schedule. Do your best to get in agreement with your spouse, preferably on your own, without the legal fees clock ticking. Try very hard to prevent an impasse. Your children's' lives may depend on it.

Visitation
Co Parenting

The parties to a dissolution (divorce) or separation have the opportunity to agree to a Visitation Schedule or Parenting Plan which includes the details of the non-custodial parenting time with the children. If the parties cannot agree, the court will impose a visitation schedule that will likely include: alternate weekend visitation (3-day weekends included), mid-week visitation, sharing of the children during periods of school recess -winter, spring and summer, New Year's Eve, Easter, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Thanksgiving, and Christmas with one parent or the other in alternate years, Father's Day with Father, Mother's Day with Mother, alternate years on the children's birthdays, and open communication by phone and computer.

You may wish to get very detailed in the visitation schedule about what is acceptable and what is not. Consider the following: How is the custody defined? What are the rights and responsibilities? Who has legal custody? Which holiday does the child spend with you? What time and where may the other parent pick the child up? What time should the child be returned home? What is the procedure to follow if either of you are running late and won't be there on time? How much notice should you be given if they are planning a vacation? How far away may the other spouse move? What about future partners? Should those partners stay overnight in front of the children?

Be aware that you have to guide your side of the divorce. Don't rely that your attorney will think of everything. You set the course; your lawyer navigates. If you anticipate any problems with custody or visitation, we suggest you own Child Custody Strategies.   

Spousal Support
Alimony
Maintenance

One or both litigants may request that temporary relief (alimony or maintenance) be granted during the process of divorce. This relief can come in the form of immediate payments, or payments may be ordered to begin at the dissolution of the marriage. The courts have some latitude here. Alimony (sometimes referred to as spousal support) can be periodic payments, lump sums or a combination thereof. Payments can be for a certain period of times (example: 5 years) or they can be permanent (lifetime or until the recipient remarries). Divorce recovery can be achieved more readily with a financial safety net.

The court may order either spouse to make maintenance payments, either rehabilitative or permanent in nature, to the other spouse if it finds that the spouse seeking maintenance:

	lacks sufficient income, property, or both, including property apportioned and is unable to support himself or herself through appropriate employment at the standard of living established during the marriage or is the custodian of a child of the parties.
	The maintenance order will be in such amounts and for such periods of time as the court deems just, after considering all relevant factors including, but not limited to: 1. the financial resources of the party seeking maintenance, 2. the property apportioned to the party, 3. the party's ability to meet his or her needs independently, and 4. the extent to which a provision for support of a child living with the party contains a sum for that party as custodian;
	the time and expense necessary to acquire sufficient education or training to enable the party seeking maintenance to find appropriate employment;
	the standard of living established during the marriage;
	the duration of the marriage;
	the age and the physical and emotional condition of each spouse;
	the ability of the spouse from whom maintenance is sought to meet his or her reasonable needs while meeting those of the spouse seeking maintenance; and
	inflation with relation to the cost of living.

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Grounds For Divorce

Like so many other states, Vermont divorce statutes provide for dissolution using any of the following common grounds for divorce:

	For adultery in either party;
	Imprisonment for more than 3 years,
	Any intolerable act or behavior,
	Deserting the heard from during that time,
	Unable to perform spousal 'duties',
	Incurable insanity, and
	When the couple has lived apart for at least six months and the court finds little chance of reconciliation (irreconcilable differences).

Marriage Annulment
Marital Annulment

Annulment is termination of an illegal marital relationship, whereas a divorce is the termination of a legal marriage. When an marriage annulment is completed, one is permitted to marry again. If you are filing for a marriage annulment (sometimes called a marital annulment) in Vermont, you must prove a condition existed that is also considered grounds set by Vermont annulment laws. The following are valid Vermont annulment grounds:

	Fraud- Tricking or duping your partner into marriage,
	Mental Illness- According to Vermont annulment laws, you can obtain an annulment if your spouse has some kind of mental illness, partial or complete. But to get an annulment on this annulment ground you have to provide a medical certificate testifying as to your spouse’s incurable mental illness,
	Physical Incapacity- If your spouse has a physical disability which is interfering in your married life, you can obtain annulment in Vermont,
	Addiction to Drugs- Vermont annulment laws permit one to file for an annulment on this ground as well.

Mediation
Marriage Counseling

If one spouse denies the couple has lived apart for six months or more, or insists that the marriage can be salvaged, the court will, after examination consider ordering the couple to a mediation or a marriage counseling process. Essentially the court determines if reconciliation of the parties to the marriage is reasonably probable or not.     

Legal Separation
Marriage Separation

A legal separation allows for the support and maintenance of a spouse or for children without the actual granting of a divorce. Also called a marital separation or divorce separation, it accomplishes the same thing a divorce does except change marital status. It is a process that includes a petition to the court, having your spouse served, and grounds for a separation petitioned. A separation can be an extra expense, which is why many simply opt for a divorce. Legal separation is sometimes pursued when one of the parties wants to stay married for religious reasons, wants the advantage of deductibility of spousal support payments for income tax reasons, wants to maintain various insurance coverage's, or do not want to wait the state statutory waiting period for termination of marital status.  

Waiting Period

Vermont courts will grant divorces in most cases after 3 months have passed since the initiation of the action. Courts can, however, order dissolutions before 3 months have elapsed under unusual circumstances.   

Grandparents Rights

Federal law allows grandparents the right to petition for visitation for and from grandchildren. Custody can also be awarded to grandparents if the court determines that that action serves the best interest of the children. It is advisable to initiate a plea for visitation during the process of divorce of your adult child, because delaying the request might necessitate a separate court procedure that may become costly.  

Divorce Settlement
Distribution of Assets

You and your spouse will arrive at a divorce settlement, or the court will do so for you. Vermont is an "equitable distribution" state when it comes to dividing marital assets. If you and your spouse are unable to agree on what specific assets are to be divided and/or how they are to be divided, the court will do so on your behalf. Should it become necessary for the court to make the division, the judge will first determine which assets are marital and which are not, and then divide the marital assets "equitably" in a fair but not necessarily equal manner. How property is titled will have no bearing on whether a particular asset is marital property or not. In making a property settlement the court may consider all relevant factors, including but not limited to:

	the length of the marriage;
	the age and health of the parties;
	the occupation, source and amount of income of each of the parties;
	the contribution by one spouse to the education, training, or increased earning power of the other;
	the value of all property interests, liabilities, and needs of each party;
	whether the property settlement is in lieu of or in addition to maintenance;
	the opportunity of each for future acquisition of capital assets and income;
	the desirability of awarding the family home or the right to live there for reasonable periods to the spouse having custody of the children;
	the party through whom the property was acquired;
	the contribution of each spouse in the acquisition, preservation, and depreciation or appreciation in value of the respective estates, including the non monetary contribution of a spouse as a homemaker; and
	the respective merits of the parties.

Residency Requirements

In order for a petition for divorce or annulment to move forward through the Vermont court system, at least one of the parties must have resided within Vermont for a period of six months or more. Divorces are not granted unless one of the parties has been a resident of Vermont for a full year or more prior to any entry of dissolution. Vermont courts will consider temporary absence from the state ( illness, employment outside the state, armed forces relocation or other legitimate causes) as being residents in most cases.