| Grounds for Annulment: Duress, Force, and Fraud |
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| To base annulment on force, restraint, or threats, the duress must have been the inducing cause of the marriage such that the consent to marry would not have been given but for the duress. Moreover, the force or duress must continue to the time of the wedding ceremony. Annulment generally will not be granted for duress if the coerced spouse has the ability to escape or overcome the force or duress.
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| Defenses in Fault-based Divorce: Mental Illness |
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| Divorce statutes in most states consider several defenses in case of fault-based divorce, such as recrimination, condonation, reconciliation, collusion, and connivance. States traditionally have allowed mental illness as a common law affirmative defense in fault-based divorce actions, particularly against charges of adultery, cruelty, and desertion. Under a typical scenario, the defendant was required to plead the defense and prove that mental illness prevented the defendant from recognizing that the offending act was wrong. In states that allow fault-based divorce and that have detailed statutory schemes governing divorce actions, the general movement has been to limit or eliminate common law divorce defenses such as mental illness. More... |
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| Temporary Exclusive Possession of the Marital Residence in Divorce |
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| One of the measures that may be put into place during a divorce proceeding is an order awarding temporary exclusive possession of the parties' marital residence to one of the spouses. Such an order is typically viewed as a harsh remedy and is only to be used when there is evidence of serious misconduct or abuse. More... |
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| Alimony: Rehabilitative Spousal Support |
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| Alimony awards, also called "spousal support," are usually granted at the court's discretion upon a determination, which takes into account certain factors, that spousal maintenance is necessary. Some of the factors considered when determining alimony payments include the education of the spouses, their respective work experiences, income histories, ages, health, the length of the marriage, and the time either spouse has spent out of the work force. Alimony may be either temporary (often called "rehabilitative alimony") or permanent. The court grants rehabilitative spousal support when one spouse has been disadvantaged in order to equalize the burden of the divorce. More... |
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| Property Division in Divorce: Treatment of Workers' Compensation Benefits |
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| In common law equitable distribution states, the general presumption is that workers' compensation is treated as marital property if acquired during the marriage. In pure community property jurisdictions, it is treated as community property if acquired during marriage and as separate property if it is acquired before marriage or after marriage dissolution. More... |
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