Rhode Island Divorce Steps

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Rhode Island Divorce Steps to begin a divorce

  • The first step is to hire an apt lawyer
  • This is followed by an intake process. During this process, the Plaintiff provides the lawyer with relevant data so that the lawyer can precisely represent the Plaintiff
  • The lawyer drafts the following documents
    • Divorce Complaint
    • DR (6) Financial Statement
    • Statement of Children of the marriage
    • Automatic divorce order
    • Summons
    • Report of divorce
    • Counseling statement
  • The Plaintiff signs the above mentioned documents in the presence of the lawyer or another notary

Rhode Island Divorce Steps regarding Emergency motion

If the circumstances are such that if the Plaintiff has to wait till the court date, then irreparable harm could be caused to him or her, then, such a Plaintiff must file an emergency motion along with the complaint.

  • Along with this motion, the Plaintiff must file an affidavit or the motion must be verified under oath
  • The lawyer of the Plaintiff must produce the emergency motion in front of a judge and demand an ex parte order (ex parte indicates that the other party is absent and hence cannot object)
  • The judge takes into account the documentation and affidavit that is presented by the lawyer
  • Consider that the judge signs the emergency order. Then, the constable serves the Respondent the divorce complaint and the emergency order
  • An emergency motion usually deals with the following issues
    • Child abuse
    • Domestic violence
    • Dissipation or unreasonable spending of marital assets
    • Other potential emergencies
  • Consider the following situations
    • Due to the history of domestic violence, the Plaintiff fears physical harm, or
    • The Respondent has threatened the Plaintiff with abuse or has abused the Plaintiff
    In the above situation, the Plaintiff must discuss with his or her lawyer that whether it is essential to file "A Complaint Protection from Abuse." This is a separate case and differs from an emergency motion
  • It is a fact that the timing of filing the separate case (mentioned in the previous point) and the timing of filing the divorce complaint impacts the divorce case
  • Assume that an emergency motion has been granted on a particular date. Within 20 days from this date, a hearing is conducted. During this hearing, the judge decides whether the emergency orders must be enforced while the divorce case is pending
  • During the hearing (mentioned in the previous point), the Respondent has a chance to reveal his or her side of the issue

Two tracks in a Rhode Island Divorce Case

  • When the Plaintiff files the divorce case, he or she indicates whether the case must the allotted the Contested Track or the Nominal Track
  • It has been recorded that a majority of divorce cases in this state opt for the nominal track
  • A nominal track does not essentially indicate an uncontested divorce
  • A nominal track means one of the following
    • The Plaintiff believes that the case can be settled relatively quickly, or
    • The Plaintiff desires that the case should be settled relatively fast

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