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Courts and Community Resources
Lawyers and Divorce
Mediation
Mediation in the
Alaska Court System
Glossary of Family Law
Terms
Glossary of Family Law
Terms - from the Alaska Court System
Alaska Court System Home Page
Alaska Family Law
Self-Help Center
Alaska Bar Association
Alaska Legal Information -
provided by Pradell & Associates
Alaska Law Help -
this web site has information on
various family law topics, including divorce law, child custody, child
support, etc.
State
Statutory Resources
Alaska Domestic
Relations Statute
- TITLE 25. MARITAL AND DOMESTIC
RELATIONS
Alaska Legal Resource
Center
Divorce Law
25.24.050. Grounds For Divorce.
A divorce may be granted for any of the
following grounds:
(1)
failure to consummate the marriage at the time of the marriage and
continuing at the commencement of the action;
(2) adultery;
(3) conviction
of a felony;
(4) willful
desertion for a period of one year;
(5) either
(A) cruel and inhuman treatment calculated to impair health or
endanger life;
(B) personal indignities rendering life burdensome; or
(C) incompatibility of temperament;
6)
habitual gross drunkenness contracted since marriage and continuing
for one year prior to the commencement of the action;
(7)
[Repealed, Sec. 68 ch 127 SLA 1974].
(8)
incurable mental illness when the spouse has been confined to an
institution for a period of at least 18 months immediately preceding
the commencement of the action; the status as to the support and
maintenance of the mentally ill person is not altered in any way by
the granting of the divorce;
(9)
addiction of either party, subsequent to the marriage, to the habitual
use of opium, morphine, cocaine, or a similar drug.
25.24.080. Residence
Requirements For Action to Declare Marriage Void.
When a marriage has been solemnized and
the plaintiff is a resident of the state, an action to declare the
marriage void may be brought at any time.
25.24.090. Use of Spouse's
Residence.
Where one spouse is plaintiff in an
action for divorce or to declare void a marriage that was not
solemnized in the state, the residence of the other spouse in this
state inures to the plaintiff's benefit and the action may be
instituted if the other spouse is at the time of its commencement
qualified as to residence to institute a similar action.
...For more information, please review the Alaska Domestic Relations
Statute, Title 25, Marital and Domestic Relations
Marital Separation Agreements Explained
Instructions for the Divorce Complaint
Marriage and
Living Together Law
Alaska
Marriage License Laws
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Child
Support
Alaska Child Support Services Division
Alaska Child
Support Calculator
Child Support: How To Get It - by
Alaska Legal Services Corporation
FAQ's Alaska
Child Support Services
All About Child Support
- by
Family Law Self-Help Center
Child Support: Consequences of Nonpayment - by Alaska Legal Services
Corporation
Reducing Your Child Support Obligation - by Alaska Legal Services
Corporation
Available
Child Support Services - by State of Alaska
Child
Support Explained
How to Get Proof of
Your Earnings - Frequently Asked Questions
- by Family Law Self-Help
Center
Child Support Enforcement Abroad - by U.S. Department of State
...For more information, please review the Alaska Domestic Relations Statue,
Title 25, Marital and Domestic Relations
Child Custody
and Visitation Law
25.24.150. Judgments For
Custody.
- (a)
In an action for divorce or for legal separation or for placement of a
child when one or both parents have died, the court may, if it has
jurisdiction under AS
25.30.300 -
25.30.320, and is an appropriate forum under AS
25.30.350 and
25.30.360, during the pendency of the action, or at the final
hearing or at any time thereafter during the minority of a child of the
marriage, make, modify, or vacate an order for the custody of or
visitation with the minor child that may seem necessary or proper,
including an order that provides for visitation by a grandparent or
other person if that is in the best interests of the child.
- (b)
If a guardian ad litem for a child is appointed, the appointment shall
be made under the terms of AS
25.24.310 (c).
(c) The
court shall determine custody in accordance with the best interests of
the child under AS
25.20.060 -
25.20.130. In determining the best interests of the child the court
shall consider
- (1)
the physical, emotional, mental, religious, and social needs of the
child;
- (2) the capability
and desire of each parent to meet these needs;
(3)
the child's preference if the child is of sufficient age and capacity
to form a preference;
(4) the
love and affection existing between the child and each parent;
(5) the
length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory
environment and the desirability of maintaining continuity;
- (6) the willingness
and ability of each parent to facilitate and encourage a close and
continuing relationship between the other parent and the child, except
that the court may not consider this willingness and ability if one
parent shows that the other parent has sexually assaulted or engaged
in domestic violence against the parent or a child, and that a
continuing relationship with the other parent will endanger the health
or safety of either the parent or the child;
- (7) any evidence of
domestic violence, child abuse, or child neglect in the proposed
custodial household or a history of violence between the parents;
- (8) evidence that
substance abuse by either parent or other members of the household
directly affects the emotional or physical well-being of the child;
(9)
other factors that the court considers pertinent.
- (d)
In awarding custody the court may consider only those facts that
directly affect the well-being of the child.
(e)
Notwithstanding the provisions of (d) of this section, in awarding
custody the court shall comply with the provisions of 25 U.S.C. 1901 -
1963 (P.L. 95-608, the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978).
(f) If the
issue of child custody is before the court at the time it issues a
judgment under AS
25.24.160 , the court shall concurrently issue a judgment for
custody under this section unless, subject to AS
25.24.155, the court delays the custody decision for a later time.
(g) There
is a rebuttable presumption that a parent who has a history of
perpetrating domestic violence against the other parent, a child, or a
domestic living partner may not be awarded sole legal custody, sole
physical custody, joint legal custody, or joint physical custody of a
child.
(h) A
parent has a history of perpetrating domestic violence under (g) of this
section if the court finds that, during one incident of domestic
violence, the parent caused serious physical injury or the court finds
that the parent has engaged in more than one incident of domestic
violence. The presumption may be overcome by a preponderance of the
evidence that the perpetrating parent has successfully completed an
intervention program for batterers, where reasonably available, that the
parent does not engage in substance abuse, and that the best interests
of the child require that parent's participation as a custodial parent
because the other parent is absent, suffers from a diagnosed mental
illness that affects parenting abilities, or engages in substance abuse
that affects parenting abilities, or because of other circumstances that
affect the best interests of the child.
(i) If the
court finds that both parents have a history of perpetrating domestic
violence under (g) of this section, the court shall either
- (1)
award sole legal and physical custody to the parent who is less likely
to continue to perpetrate the violence and require that the custodial
parent complete a treatment program; or
- (2)
if necessary to protect the welfare of the child, award sole legal or
physical custody, or both, to a suitable third person if the person
would not allow access to a violent parent except as ordered by the
court.
- (j)
If the court finds that a parent has a history of perpetrating domestic
violence under (g) of this section, the court shall allow only
supervised visitation by that parent with the child, conditioned on that
parent's participating in and successfully completing an intervention
program for batterers, and a parenting education program, where
reasonably available, except that the court may allow unsupervised
visitation if it is shown by a preponderance of the evidence that the
violent parent has completed a substance abuse treatment program if the
court considers it appropriate, is not abusing alcohol or psychoactive
drugs, does not pose a danger of mental or physical harm to the child,
and unsupervised visitation is in the child's best interests.
(k) The
fact that an abused parent suffers from the effects of the abuse does
not constitute a basis for denying custody to the abused parent unless
the court finds that the effects of the domestic violence are so severe
that they render the parent unable to safely parent the child.
...For more information, please review the Alaska Domestic Relations
Statue, Title 25, Marital and Domestic Relations
Your Rights as a Parent - by
Alaska Legal Services
Corporation
FAQ on Child
Custody and Visitation
Child Custody
Resources
Property Division
25.24.160. Judgment.
- (a)
In a judgment in an action for divorce or action declaring a marriage
void or at any time after judgment, the court may provide
- (1)
for the payment by either or both parties of an amount of money or
goods, in gross or installments that may include cost-of-living
adjustments, as may be just and proper for the parties to contribute
toward the nurture and education of their children, and the court may
order the parties to arrange with their employers for an automatic
payroll deduction each month or each pay period, if the period is
other than monthly, of the amount of the installment; if the employer
agrees, the installment shall be forwarded by the employer to the
clerk of the superior court that entered the judgment or to the court
trustee, and the amount of the installment is exempt from execution;
- (2)
for the recovery by one party from the other of an amount of money for
maintenance, for a limited or indefinite period of time, in gross or
in installments, as may be just and necessary without regard to which
of the parties is in fault;
an award of maintenance must fairly allocate the economic effect of
divorce by being based on a consideration of the following factors:
- (A)
the length of the marriage and station in life of the parties during
the marriage;
(B) the
age and health of the parties;
(C) the
earning capacity of the parties, including their educational
backgrounds, training, employment skills, work experiences, length
of absence from the job market, and custodial responsibilities for
children during the marriage;
- (D) the financial
condition of the parties, including the availability and cost of
health insurance;
(E) the conduct of the
parties, including whether there has been unreasonable depletion of
marital assets;
- (F)
the division of property under (4) of this subsection; and
- (G) other factors
the court determines to be relevant in each individual case;
- (3)
for the delivery to either party of that party's personal property in
the possession or control of the other party at the time of giving the
judgment;
(4) for the division between the parties of their property,
including retirement
benefits, whether joint or separate, acquired only during marriage, in
a just manner and without regard to which of the parties is in fault;
however, the court, in making the division, may invade the property,
including retirement benefits, of either spouse acquired before
marriage when the balancing of the equities between the parties
requires it; and to accomplish this end the judgment may require that
one or both of the parties assign, deliver, or convey any of their
real or personal property, including retirement benefits, to the other
party; the division of property must fairly allocate the economic
effect of divorce by being based on consideration of the following
factors:
- (A)
the length of the marriage and station in life of the parties during
the marriage;
(B) the
age and health of the parties;
(C) the
earning capacity of the parties, including their educational
backgrounds, training, employment skills, work experiences, length
of absence from the job market, and custodial responsibilities for
children during the marriage;
(D) the
financial condition of the parties, including the availability and
cost of health insurance;
- (E) the conduct of
the parties, including whether there has been unreasonable depletion
of marital assets;
(F)
the desirability of awarding the family home, or the right to live
in it for a reasonable period of time, to the party who has primary
physical custody of children;
(G) the
circumstances and necessities of each party;
- (H) the time and
manner of acquisition of the property in question; and
(I)
the income-producing capacity of the property and the value of the
property at the time of division.
- (b)
If a judgment under this section distributes benefits to an alternate
payee under AS
14.25, AS
21.51.120 (a), AS
21.54.020 (g),
21.54.050(c), AS
22.25, AS
26.05.222 -
26.05.226, or AS
39.35, the judgment must meet the requirements of a qualified
domestic relations order under the definition of that phrase that is
applicable to those provisions.
- (c) Notwithstanding (a)
of this section, if one of the parties to an action for divorce or
action declaring a marriage void expressly submits to the court the
issue of property division and has not withdrawn that issue from the
court before judgment, the court shall provide in the judgment for the
division of property and may not reserve the issue of property division
for a later time unless the conditions of AS
25.24.155 have been met.
- (d) For each judgment
issued under this section, the court shall include in
- the records relating to the matter the
social security numbers, if ascertainable, of the following persons:
- (1)
each party to the action;
- (2)
each child whose rights are addressed in the judgment.
- (e)
When distributing property identified as community property under a
community property agreement or
trust under AS
34.77, unless the parties have provided in the agreement or trust
for another disposition of the community property, the court shall make
such disposition of the community property as shall appear just and
equitable after considering all relevant factors, including
- (1)
the nature and extent of the community property;
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