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Family Law: Arkansas Statutes - Coggle Diagram
Family Law: Arkansas Statutes
Marriage
Illegal Conduct
Bigamy
(ACA § 5-26-201)
Definition: Married another person while currently married
Defenses
(2) Had lived apart from the prior spouse for five (5) consecutive years throughout which time the prior spouse was not known to the actor to be alive;
(3) Reasonably believed that a court had ordered a valid termination or annulment of the prior marriage; or
(4) Otherwise reasonably believed that the actor was legally eligible to marry.
(1) Reasonably believed that the prior spouse was dead;
Incestuous Marriages
(ACA § 9-11-106)
Parents and children
Grandparents and grandchildren
Full and half siblings
Uncles/aunts and nephews/nieces
First cousins
Extends to illegitimate children and relations
Basics
Anyone over the age of 18 can get married (ACA § 9-11-102)
Marriage is considered to be a civil contract (ACA § 9-11-101)
Marriage Between Minors
Prior to Marriage
At least 17 years old but under 18 years old
(ACA § 9-11-102)
(3) Before a marriage license can be issued, contracting parties must give the clerk a verified and notarized affidavit that states that the parent of the contracting party consents to the marriage
(2) Contracting Party: someone who is at least 17 years old but under 18 years old
(4) The consent of both parents of a contracting party is necessary unless:
(A) The parents have been divorced and custody of the contracting party has been awarded to one (1) of the parents exclusive of the other;
(B) The custody of the contracting party has been surrendered by one (1) of the parents through abandonment or desertion, in which case the consent of the parent who has custody of the contracting party is sufficient; or
(C) A guardian has been appointed for the contracting party, in which case the consent of the guardian of the contracting party is sufficient.
(5) The consent of the parent or guardian may be voided by the order of a circuit court on a showing by clear and convincing evidence that:
(A) The parent or guardian is not fit to make decisions concerning the contracting party; and
(B) The marriage is not in the contracting party's best interest.
(6) There shall be a waiting period of five (5) business days for a marriage license issued under this subsection
(7) If a contracting party has a pending case in a circuit court, a parent or guardian who files consent under this subsection shall immediately notify the circuit court and all parties and attorneys to the pending case
(1) Anyone who is at least 17 but under the age of 18 may get married
One or both minors are older than 16 but younger than 18
(ABA § 9-11-103)
(a) If the woman is pregnant, both parties may appear before a judge of the circuit court of the district where the application for a marriage license is being made
(2) Evidence shall be submitted as to:
(A) The pregnancy of the female in the form of a certificate from a licensed and regularly practicing physician of the State of Arkansas;
(B) The birth certificates of both parties; and
(C) Parental consent of each party who may be under the minimum age.
(3) If the judge finds that it is to the best interest of the parties, the judge may enter an order authorizing and directing the county clerk to issue a marriage license to the parties
(b) If she has already given birth, the court before whom the parties are to appear, if satisfied that it would be to the best interests of all the interested parties and if all the requirements of subsection (a) of this section are complied with, with the exception of the physician's certificate as to the pregnancy, may enter an order authorizing and directing the county clerk to issue a marriage license as provided in subsection (a) of this section.
After Marriage
Marriage between underage parties can be voidable
(ACA § 9-11-105)
(a) The marriage of any male under the full age of seventeen (17) years and the marriage of any female under the full age of sixteen (16) years is voidable.
(b) and (c) specific requirements for certain time periods
Annulment
(ACA § 9-12-201)
Reasons
Either party can't understand their consent to the marriage
Either party can't enter the marriage because of physical causes
Either party's consent was given through force or fraud
Either party isn't legally old enough to consent to the marriage
The marriage shall be void from the time its nullity is declared by the court.
Already married (not mentioned in the statute)
Divorce
Initial Procedures and Filing
Grounds for Divorce
(ACA § 9-12-301)
(b) The circuit court shall have power to dissolve and set aside a marriage for the following causes:
(1) Either party, at the start of the marriage, was and still is impotent
(2) Either party is convicted of a felony or other infamous crime
(3) When either party shall:
(A) Be addicted to habitual drunkenness for one (1) year
(B) Be guilty of such cruel and barbarous treatment as to endanger the life of the other
(C) Offer such indignities to the person of the other as shall render his or her condition intolerable
(4) Either party commits adultery
(5) When they've lived separate and apart for 18 continuous months without cohabitation. The petition can be by either party, whether the separation was one party's choice, a mutual agreement, or due to the fault of one or both parties
(6) When a husband and wife have lived separate and apart for 3 consecutive years without cohabitation by reason of the incurable insanity of 1 of them
(7) When either spouse is legally obligated to support the other and willfully fails to do so
(a) A party that seeks to dissolve their divorce must state in their petition for divorce that they are seekinbg to dissolve a marriage as authorized under the Covenant Marriage Act of 2001, § 9-11-801 et seq.
Corroboration
(ACA § 9-12-306)
(a) In an uncontested divorce, there doesn't need to be corroboration of the plaintiff's grounds for divorce
(b) In contested suits, corroboration of the injured party's grounds may be expressly waived in writing by the other spouse.
Matters that must be proved
(ACA § 9-12-307)
(a) To obtain a divorce, the plaintiff must prove, but need not allege, in addition to a legal cause of divorce:
(A) Arkansas residency by either party for sixty days before filing and a residence in Arkansas for 3 months before final decree of divorce judgment.
(B) No decree of divorce, shall be granted until at least 30 days from the date of the filing of the complaint
(C) If personal service on the defendant isn't possible or if they fail to appear, there will be no decree of divorce until the plaintiff has had actual residence in Arkansas for at least 3 months
(2) That the cause of action and cause of divorce occurred in this state. If it was out of state, that it was a legal cause of divorce in this state. The laws of Arkansas will govern exclusively and independently of any other state laws as to the cause of divorce
(3) That the cause of divorce occurred or existed within five (5) years next before the commencement of the suit
Effect of collusion, consent, or equal guilt of parties
(ACA § 9-12-308)
No divorce shall be granted if it appears to the court that the adultery or other offense complained of has been:
A collusion of the parties
Done with an intent to get a divorce
Done with the complainant's consent
Both parties have been guilty of the offense
Name Change
Name Change (ACA § 9-2-102):
any person whose name may be so changed by judgment or decree of any of the circuit courts shall afterward be known and designated, sue and be sued, plead and be impleaded, by the name thus conferred
Name Change Procedure
(ACA § 9-2-101)
(a) If someone petitions the court to change their name, the circuit court shall have power, upon good reasons shown, to alter or change the name of the person.
(b) When application is made to the court under this section, it shall be by petition in writing embodying the reasons for the application.
(c) (1) When allowed, the petition shall by order of the court be spread upon the record, together with the decree of the court.
(2) An appropriate order, as prescribed in this subsection, may be made by a circuit judge in vacation. This order shall have the same force and effect as if made at term time.
Domestic Abuse Act
(AR Code § 9-15)
Petition Form
(ACA § 9-15-203)
(a) The circuit clerk shall provide simplified forms and clerical assistance to help petitioners with the writing and filing of a petition under this chapter if the petitioner is not represented by counsel.
(b) The petition form shall not require or suggest that a petitioner include his or her Social Security number or the Social Security number of the respondent in the petition.
(c)(A) A petitioner may omit his or her home address or business address from all documents filed with the court
Miscellaneous
Relief, Generally
(ACA § 9-15-205)
(a) At the hearing on the petition filed under this chapter, upon a finding of domestic abuse as defined in § 9-15-103, the court may provide the following relief:
(1) Exclude the abuser from the home the parties share or the victim's home
(2) Exclude the abuser from the victim's business, job, school, or other location of the victim
(3)(A) Award temporary custody or establish temporary visitation rights for minor children of the parties
(4) Order temporary support for minor children or a spouse
(5) Allow the prevailing party a reasonable attorney's fee as part of the costs
(6) Prohibit the abuser from contacting the victim except under specific conditions named in the order
(7) Direct the care, custody, or control of any pet owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held by either party residing in the household
(b) Any relief granted by the court for protection under this chapter shall last somewhere between (90 days to 10 years). It can renewed at a later hearing with proof and a finding by the court that the domestic abuse threat still exists
Order of Protection
(ACA § 9-15-207)
(b) An order of protection shall include notice to the abuser of:
(1) A violation of the order of protection charge
(2) The charge for violating an OOP under this section within 5 years of a previous conviction
(3) They can't possess a firearm with the OOP
(4) The charge for violating an OOP within 5 years of a previous conviction for violating an OOP
(5) The abuser cannot harass, stalk, or threaten a person named in the OOP as a family or household member, a child of theirs, or a child of the respondent
(d) Address
(1) In the final order of protection, the victim's personal addresses may be excluded from notice to the abuser
(2) A court shall also order that the petitioner's copy of the order of protection be excluded from any address where the respondent happens to reside.
(e) A law enforcement officer shall not arrest a petitioner for the violation of an order of protection
(f) When a law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe that a respondent has violated an order of protection and has been presented verification of the existence of the order of protection, the officer may arrest the respondent without a warrant whether or not the violation occurred in the presence of the officer
(g) An order of protection issued by a court of competent jurisdiction in any county of this state is enforceable in every county of this state
(h) An order of protection shall include either:
Domestic Abuse Act
(AR Code § 9-15)