|
The kinds of domestic
relations (family law) actions that can be filed depend
upon whether the relationship between the people involved is “marital” or “non-marital.”
Marital Relationships:
A “marital”
relationship is a “marriage.” A “marriage” can be either
by “licensed” or “common law.”
A “licensed”
marriage is one where the parties obtained a marriage
license and were married as provided by the laws of the place where they
were married.
A “common law”
marriage is one in which the parties have satisfied the requirements to be “common
law married.” Not all States allow couples to become common law married;
however, every State divorces couples that were common law married in a State
in which common law marriage is recognized as valid.
If a couple is married,
whether by license or at common law, they can only divorce by court order.
There is no such thing as a “common law divorce.”
Three different kinds
of domestic relations actions exist effecting the
marriage relationship in Kansas
– divorce, annulment, and separate maintenance. Each of these types of marital
action effects the couple’s marital status in a different
way.
Divorce. The first kind of action is the most commonly known. It
is the "divorce."
A divorce requests
that the marriage of the parties to the action be
dissolved. A divorce presumes that the marriage of the parties is
valid and that there will be no marital relationship between the parties
after the requested order is granted. This action
also requests that the court make orders regarding property and debt
division, child custody, residency, parenting time, third party visitation and child and spousal support issues, if
those are appropriately before the Court.
Separate maintenance. The second kind of action is a
"separate maintenance" action.
The “separate
maintenance” action is a form of what is commonly known
as a "legal separation." A separate maintenance action does not
dissolve the parties' marriage, but does request that the court issue
various orders regarding property and debt division, child custody,
visitation and support and spousal support issues. The separate maintenance
action is basically a holdover from earlier times
when divorces were more difficult to obtain. It is not
commonly filed and may increase costs. If a
separate maintenance action is filed by one party and the other
party requests a divorce, the court must grant the divorce rather than the
separate maintenance request.
Annulment. The third kind of domestic
relations action is an "annulment."
An annulment can be requested no matter how long or short two people
have been married, so long as the requirements of the statute are met. An
annulment may be obtained if the marriage is
either "void" or "voidable." In other
words, the court may grant the parties an annulment if the parties either
could not have become legally married in the first place (such as because
they were too close in family relationship or there was some legal
prohibition on the parties becoming married) — a "void" marriage
— or if there was some significant fact about which one or both parties did
not have knowledge that existed at the time of the marriage which would
have led that person not to enter into the marriage or if there was some
other defect in the parties' marriage other than a prohibition on their
marrying — a "voidable" marriage.
Non-Marital Relationships:
Although an
unmarried couple cannot obtain a “divorce,” Kansas law provides that the courts may
determine the equitable division of property between the cohabitants if
they cannot agree on the way they should divide the property they
accumulated.
|
