Nh divorce how long

How will a judge decide the amount of alimony that I will get? If I get alimony, how long will it last? Additional information and links What are the basic steps for filing for divorce?

Where can I find additional information about divorce laws in New Hampshire? Where can I find additional information about divorce on WomensLaw. View all. What are the residency requirements for divorce in New Hampshire? The judge can grant you a divorce in New Hampshire if: both you and your spouse live in New Hampshire when you start the divorce case; you live in New Hampshire and your spouse is personally served with the divorce paperwork while in the state; or you have lived in New Hampshire for one year before filing for divorce.

Some documents, like the financial affidavit, are signed under oath, and false statements can be treated as perjury. Failing to accurately provide the court with information can have lots of negative effects.

If you do not disclose assets, your divorce can be re-opened, even years later, and you could not only lose the asset but be found in contempt, charged with fraud, and incur enormous costs. Any document you file with the clerk must also be provided to the other side - whether or not there is a lawyer on the other side. Each document you file will have to include a "certificate of service" which is your signature attesting that you provided the other side with a copy.

The terms of your divorce decree are binding on both parties. Failing to comply with the terms of the decree can result in a finding of contempt. Other matters, like parental rights and responsibilities, child support, and alimony can be reviewed later, but there are special laws about when you can do so. See our page on Child Support Modification.

If you want to try and change an order it is important to get legal advice first. The rules for modification of existing orders are beyond the scope of this handbook. A divorce decree is final 30 days after the date on the clerk's notice of decision, unless a party files a Motion for Reconsideration or an Appeal to the NH Supreme Court.

In either of those events, the decree is final 30 days after the date on the clerk's notice of decision on those motions, or after the ruling on the appeal.

Please help us help you. Take our quick survey. Skip to main content. How long does it take to get a divorce? Grounds for divorce New Hampshire is technically a "no-fault" divorce state.

The divorce statute lists the following grounds: Impotency of either party. Adultery of either party. Extreme cruelty of either party to the other. Conviction of either party, in any state or federal district, of a crime punishable with imprisonment for more than one year and actual imprisonment under such conviction. When either party has so treated the other as seriously to injure health or endanger reason.

When either party has been absent 2 years together, and has not been heard of. When either party is an habitual drunkard, and has been such for 2 years together. When either party has joined any religious sect or society which professes to believe the relation of husband and wife unlawful, and has refused to cohabit with the other for 6 months together.

When either party, without sufficient cause, and without the consent of the other, has abandoned and refused, for 2 years together, to cohabit with the other. Jurisdiction Before filing a divorce or other family case, it is important to make sure that the court has jurisdiction over the parties and the subject.

The court only has jurisdiction over the parties if: Both parties live in NH when the divorce starts; or The Respondent does not live in NH, but the Petitioner has lived in NH for more than one year before filing; or The Respondent does not live in NH, the Petitioner has lived in NH for less than one year, but the Respondent is actually served in NH; or The Respondent does not live in NH, the Petitioner has lived in NH for less than one year, but the parties file a joint petitioner or the Respondent files a waiver of service.

Venue Venue means which court location will actually handle your case. Relief "Relief" is an order given by the court. Property Distribution Property Distribution means the way that all of the assets and debts what you own and what you owe are divided up in a divorce. Bankruptcy A bankruptcy after divorce can undo all of the work that goes into working out an agreement.

Divorce is permanent; the parties are free to remarry and their property claims are settled. Legal separation and divorce are in all respects identical, with the exception that the parties in a legal separation are unable to remarry. In New Hampshire, legal separation is not merely a step that is required before divorcing; there is no legal separation requirement.

If you are legally separated, and decide you want to be divorced, you can file a motion with ask the court to amend your legal separation to change it to a divorce decree. Annulment, on the other hand, establishes that your marriage never existed. Generally, annulment is granted because the union was brief and illegal in the first place because the couple were close blood relatives; one or both of the parties was underage; one of the parties lied about something important to the marriage; or one of the parties was already married to someone else bigamy.

The court may consider the legitimacy of any children as a result of the union and the preservation of the sanctity of marriage in making its determination. Because of these considerations, a court will generally look to grant a divorce instead of granting an annulment.

An annulment is a rare legal proceeding establishing that a valid marriage never occurred for one or more of the following reasons:. An annulment is more difficult to obtain than a divorce and you must be prepared to offer documentation to support your contentions. Although annulments may be granted, the preference of the court is not to annul, but for the parties to divorce. The law limits the authority of state courts to grant divorces. This authority is known as jurisdiction over a court proceeding.

For a New Hampshire court to have jurisdiction over a divorce, at least one of the following requirements must apply: 1 both parties must live in New Hampshire at the time of filing; 2 the spouse filing for divorce the petitioner must have lived in New Hampshire for at least one year immediately preceding the filing and the spouse respondent must be personally served with divorce papers within the state; or 3 the petitioner must have lived in New Hampshire for at least one year immediately prior to filing.

You do not have to remain at the same address to fulfill your residency requirement. You can move anywhere within the state from which you are filing. The forms do not require you to list all addressees, but you should be prepared to prove where you lived during the separation in the final hearing.

Your residency is substantiated by your sworn complaint. The testimony is all that most courts require to verify residency. But cases have been dismissed and even overturned because of improper proof of residency. A court may take on a divorce proceeding even if your spouse is not a resident of New Hampshire. If you or your spouse moves to another state after the divorce has been filed, you may still have your case heard in New Hampshire. Register to vote. Get a driver's license.

Get a job. Purchase a residence. Sign a lease. Open charge accounts or bank accounts. Register your car. Take out a library card. The list is endless. But whatever you do, do not maintain a residence in another state that could imply that you do not intend to remain in the state from which you file. New Hampshire has counties that govern the court where your divorce will take place.. This is called venue.

The divorce must be filed where either the plaintiff or defendant resides or where either is regularly employed or has a place of business. Residents of Belknap, Carroll, Coos, Grafton, Merrimack, Rockingham, or Sullivan counties file divorce actions at their county's District Court, Family Division, which has jurisdiction to hear divorce cases. Residents of Cheshire, Hillsborough, or Stratford counties file divorce actions in their county's Superior Court, which has jurisdiction over divorce action in these counties.

If there are multiple family division locations within a county, the petition is properly filed in the family division location for the town in which the petitioner resides. If a joint petition is filed, the petition is properly filed in the family division location for the town of either the petitioner or the respondent. An individual initiating a divorce a Petitioner begins divorce proceedings in New Hampshire by filing a Petition for Divorce and a Personal Data Sheet.

The Petitioner's spouse Respondent must receive notice of the filing by one of three methods: 1 the Respondent can go to the court to pick up the papers; 2 the Petitioner can send the papers to the Respondent by certified mail; or 3 the Petitioner can have the sheriff serve the papers on the Respondent. If notice is not provided by one of these methods, the divorce filing is invalid. In New Hampshire, if both spouses with no minor children agree to obtain a divorce, even if they do not agree on the division of property, they can begin divorce proceedings by filing a Joint Petition for Divorce along with a Personal Data Sheet.

Filing jointly provides the advantage of removing the requirement of serving the nonfiling spouse with legal papers. Once the filing process is completed, each spouse must complete Financial Affidavits, which include detailed information on sources and amounts of income, taxes, debts, value of assets, budgets, and employment information.

When you file the relevant papers, you must have stated your grounds for that court to have jurisdiction. If not state correctly, your spouse could file a motion to dismiss your case. After the petition is filed, if the court has not received a timely response from the Respondent and the Petitioner has requested a default, a default hearing will be scheduled no less than 30 days from the Petitioner's written request, provided the Petitioner has filed the following with the court: a military affidavit, vital statistics form, non-cohabitation affidavit, affidavit of impossibility, uniform support order, and child support guideline worksheet if child support is to be ordered, a proposed decree, a parenting plan, a current financial affidavit,, and a certificate that the previously listed documents have been forwarded to the other party.

Petitions that are incomplete or that are incorrectly served will be dismissed. In New Hampshire, there is no waiting period or period of separation required before filing for divorce. There are three principal players involved in your marriage that will also be involved in your divorce: you, your spouse, and the state.

You cannot simply break up on your own, saddle your charger, and ride off into the sunset. Over the years each state has enacted legislation that governs acceptable grounds. New Hampshire is what is known as a no-fault divorce state, which means that neither party is required to state specific grounds for divorce other than the standard "irreconcilable differences that have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage" meaning basically that you believe your differences as a couple have reached a point that your marriage can never be repaired.

Most divorces in New Hampshire are filed as no-fault. With the trend toward settling differences through mediation and greater cooperation over parenting issues, the motivation for stating grounds for divorce as a strategy in divorce proceedings has weakened.

There probably is no such thing as a pleasant adultery case because names, dates, places, paramours, and the like have to be brought out in the open.

If your spouse no longer cares about what you know and is open about the affair, you're lucky. You can then catch your spouse flagrante delicto, which means you have your spouse in the flagrant wrong and may not have to worry about hiring detectives. However, you may still need a detective to prove your case in court. There is still a need for a corroborative witness, such as a mutual friend or neighbor, who has no stake in the matter except telling the court what he she witnessed.

Most adultery cases are proven by circumstantial evidence, which means that you have to establish that your spouse had the disposition and opportunity to commit adultery. Public displays of affection, such as handholding, kissing, and hugging between the guilty spouse and the paramour are generally sufficient evidence to indicate an adulterous disposition. Opportunity may be proven by showing that your spouse was seen entering the paramour's apartment at 11 P. If you can only prove disposition but not opportunity, the courts may not allow your divorce because the court may reason that it is mere speculation.

The same is true if you only show there was opportunity, but cannot prove disposition. When you think about it, this seems to make sense. Sometimes known as a paramour, the co-respondent is the person whom you charge as having committed adultery with your spouse.

The co-respondent has the right to hire a lawyer and file an answer to your complaint. Naming co-respondents can get sticky, particularly if your facts are incorrect. You might be damaging the reputation of an innocent person.