Arkansas Divorce Law Residency Requirements for Divorce in Arkansas

A spouse must reside in the state for 60 days to file for divorce and for 3 months before a divorce will be finalized. The divorce should be filed in the county of the plaintiff. However, if the plaintiff is a non-resident of Arkansas, the divorce may be filed in the county where the defendant resides. The venue requirements may be waived in Arkansas.
[Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated;
Title 9, Chapters 12-301 and 12-303].

Legal Grounds for Divorce in Arkansas
 

1. No Fault Divorce: Voluntarily living separately without cohabitation for 18 months.
   [Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated; Title 9, Chapter 12-301].
2. General Divorce:

1. Impotence
2. Adultery
3. Confinement for incurable insanity or separation caused by mental illness for a period of 3 years
4. Conviction of a felony
5. Cruel and inhuman treatment which endangers the life of the spouse
6. Personal indignities
7. Habitual intemperance (drunkenness) for 1 year
8. Commission and/or conviction of an infamous crime
9. Nonsupport whereby the spouse is able to provide support but willfully fails to provide suitable maintenance for the complaining spouse.

Simplified/Special Divorce Procedures in Arkansas
In an uncontested divorce, proof of a spouse's residency, proof of separation, and proof of no cohabitation may be provided by a signed affidavit from a third party. In addition, in an uncontested divorce, proof of the grounds for divorce need not be corroborated by a third party.
[Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated; Title 9, Chapters 12-306, 12-313, and 12-316].

Divorce Mediation or Counseling Requirements
There is no legal provision in Arkansas for mediation.

Divorce Property Distribution
Arkansas is an "equitable distribution" state. All of the marital property acquired during the marriage is divided equally between the spouses. However, if the court finds the division to be unfair, it may redistribute the property, after consideration of the following factors:

1. The contribution of each spouse to the preservation, appreciation, or acquisition of the marital property, including the contribution of each spouse as homemaker
2. The length of the marriage
3. The age, health, and station in life of the spouses
4. The occupation of the spouses
5. The amount and sources of income of the spouses
6. The vocational skills of the spouses
7. The employability of the spouses
8. The estate, liabilities, and needs of each spouse and the opportunity of each for further acquisition of capital assets and income
9. The federal income tax consequences of the court's division of the property

The separate property of each spouse, consisting of property acquired prior to the marriage, and any gifts or inheritances, is retained by the spouse owning it, unless the court finds it necessary to divide the separate property in order to achieve an equitable distribution.
[Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated; Title 9, Chapter 12-315].

Alimony and Spousal Support
Alimony may be granted to either spouse in fixed installments for a specific period of time and subject to automatic termination upon the death of either spouse, remarriage of the receiving spouse, or the establishment by the receiving spouse of a relationship that produces a child or children. Where the grounds for divorce are voluntary separation for 3 years, fault may be considered in dividing the property. The factors for consideration specified in the statute are that the amount be reasonable based on the circumstances of the parties and the nature of the case. Alimony payments may be ordered to be paid through the registry of the court.
[Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated; Title 9, Chapter 12-312].

Spouse's Name After Divorce
The court may restore the wife's pre-marriage name.
[Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated; Title 9, Chapter 12-318].

Child Custody After Divorce
Child custody is awarded based on the welfare and best interests of the child, after a consideration of the following factors:

1. The circumstances of the parents and child
2. The nature of the case
3. Which parent is most likely to allow frequent and continuing contact with the other parent
4. Any acts of domestic violence

Joint or shared custody may been awarded if it is found to be in the best interests of the child. The sex of the parent is not a factor for decisions relating to child custody. A grandparent of a child may petition the court to request continuing contact with the child.
[Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated; Title 9, Chapter 13-101 and Arkansas Case Law].

Child Support After Divorce
In awarding a reasonable amount of child support, the court is to consider the following factors:

1. The circumstances of the parents and child
2. The nature of the case

Child support payments may be ordered to be paid through the registry of the court and the court may require that a bond securing payment be required. There is an official Arkansas Family Support guidelines chart which is presumed to be correct, unless the court finds that the amount would be inappropriate or unjust, considering the following factors:

1. Any necessary medical, dental, or psychological care or insurance
2. The creation or maintenance of trust fund for the child
3. Daycare expenses
4. Extraordinary time spent with the non-custodial parent
5. Any additional support provided by the parent obligated to pay support

This chart should be available from the Clerk of any Chancery Court. In addition, an official Affidavit of Financial Means must be filed with divorce cases which involve issues relating to child support.
[Arkansas Code of 1987 Annotated; Title 9, Chapters 12-312 and 14-105 and Addendum to 1997 Arkansas Code Supplement].
 

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Attention Divided by Divorce
By Gary Direnfeld, MSW, RSW
Nov 2, 2006, Thu, 2 Nov 2006 09:23

Attention Divided by Divorce


Your son or daughter isn’t doing to well at school. You get a call from the teacher complaining of behaviour. If it’s a boy, the complaint is about fidgetiness, lack of concentration, impulsive behaviour, poor judgment and some talking back. If it’s a girl, she is described as distracted. Her mind seems to wander. Work isn’t completed and she seems withdrawn. In both cases grades are slipping.

The teacher advises that the child exhibits the classic symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity if a boy and Attention Deficit Disorder, Inattentive Type if a girl.

Psychoeducational testing may be suggested as might a prescription for Ritalin or Concerta.

If the parent obtains the psycho-educational assessment, little will be asked about family life and if asked, usually only one parent is interviewed. Hence information pertaining to family life may be minimized, or alternately any issue raised will be ascribed to the behaviour of the other parent. The testing will continue and a diagnosis of ADD confirmed.

With or without treatment, the child will appear resistant to change. In fact, symptoms may worsen. Prescriptions may be adjusted or changed. Behavioural interventions will be directed towards the child to gain compliance. The child may be withdrawn from the regular classroom. At best problems continue and at worst they intensify.

Some children subject to high-conflict parental divorce feel trapped between their parents or alternately feel like they must take sides. Either way, the parental conflict has spilled into their lives and as the child shoulders a burden to great to carry, it affects their ability to manage the demands of school.

In much the same was an adult with too much on their mind has trouble concentrating, so too of children. However, with children, there is often the myth that they are unaffected by the parental dispute or even if affected, can carry on at school. Hence the impact of the parental separation and conflict on the child goes undetected, unquestioned or unchallenged. It is glossed over as a contributory issue to the problems of the child’s academic performance.

In the context of a high-conflict separation or divorce, ADD may just as well be taken as Attention Divided by Divorce as Attention Deficit Disorder. In either case the child’s behaviour looks the same. However, rather than an underlying neurological condition altering attention, the root of the problem is the parental conflict. No wonder in situations such as these, pharmacological and behavioural interventions directed solely at the child produce few results. To address the root of the problem, the parental conflict must be addressed.

In situations such as these, it is imperative that both parents are apprised of the child’s behaviour at school so that both parents can be interviewed with a view to determining if issues emanating from family life are contributory to their child’s school related performance.

Conflict that drags on causes ceaseless distress from which the child might never recover. Left unchecked, as the child remains in distress, school performance is undermined and the child runs the risk of losing pace with the other students. From there, there can be a cascade of secondary problems related to self-esteem, behaviour and school failure that can become entrenched and intractable.

Hopefully recognizing when parental conflict is underlying a child’s distress, both parents may be informed and hopefully better motivated to resolve the conflict. While parents may be apt to blame each other, it can be pointed out that regardless of who started the conflict, it is now the ongoing nature of the conflict that is bringing emotional and then academic harm to the child.

Given most parents profess to be working in the best interest of their child, maybe they can be coaxed or coached to resolve or at least manage their conflict in a way that minimizes distress to the child. If successful, attention will then likely improve.