Divorce - In Rhode Island, when a divorce petition is filed with the Family Court, one must check off if it will be a nominal (all issues are resolved between the parties) or contested (all or some issues will be disputed).  Nominal divorces are usually resolved much quicker leading the parties to obtain a final divorce decree in a matter of months.  Contested divorces tend to span much longer and as a result become much more time consuming for the parties and their respective attornies.  The following may be some of the issues thay arise during a divorce matter:

Children - There are four main aspects with respect to children. 

• Custody, meaning who will make major decisions regarding the health, welfare, religion and schooling of the the children. 
• Placement, who the children will live with more than fifty percent of the time. 
• Visitation, if one parent is awarded placement, what will be the visitation schudule of the non custodial parent. 
• Child Support, how much the non custodial parent will pay to parent where the children reside.  Support is based upon a formula enacted by the State of Rhode Island. 

Our firm has extensive experiance with all of these areas and is ready to explain during a free office consultation. 

Alimony / Maintenance - As with other aspects of a divorce settlement, calculating amounts and determining if alimony is appropriate can be confusing. Be sure to hire an attorney who has experience in dealing with alimony as part of the divorce agreement.

Property Division - When a couple has been married for any length of time, it is likely that they have shared assets. Upon divorce, marital assets need to be valued and divided in a manner that is fair. Our firm has extensive experience with divorce and with many cases of property division.

Call 401.648.7190 now or E-mail: ruipalves@ruipalves.com