No complaint for divorce from the bond of marriage shall be granted unless the plaintiff has been a domiciled inhabitant of this state and has resided in this state for a period of one year next before the filing of the complaint. The divorce would be filed in the county in which the plaintiff resides or in the county in which the defendant resides if he or she meets the 1 years residency requirement. (General Laws of Rhode Island - Title 15 , Chapter 15-5-12)

(1) Irreconcilable differences which have caused the breakdown of the marriage. (2) Living separate and apart without cohabitation for 3 years. (General Laws of Rhode Island - Title 15 , Chapters 15-5-2 15-5-3, 15-5-3.1 1505-5)

The court will consider the following when making a property award: (A) The duration of the marriage; (B) The conduct of the parties during the marriage; (C) The contribution of each of the parties during the marriage in the acquisition, preservation, or appreciation in value of their respective estates; (D) The contribution and services of either party as a homemaker; (E) The health and age of the parties; (F) The amount and sources of income of each of the parties; (G) The occupation and employability of each of the parties; (H) The opportunity of each party for future acquisition of capital assets and income; (I) The contribution by one party to the education, training, license, business, or increased earning power of the other; (J) The need of the custodial parent to occupy or own the marital residence and to use or own its household effects taking into account the best interests of the children of the marriage; (K) Either party's wasteful dissipation of assets or any transfer or encumbrance of assets made in contemplation of divorce without fair consideration; and (L) Any factor which the court shall expressly find to be just and proper. (General Laws of Rhode Island - Title 15 , Chapter 15-5-16.1)

In determining the amount of alimony the court shall consider: (1) The length of the marriage; (2) The conduct of the parties during the marriage; (3) The health, age, station, occupation, amount and source of income, vocational skills, and employability of the parties; and (4) The state and the liabilities and needs of each of the parties. (5) The extent to which either party is unable to support herself or himself adequately; (6) The extent to which a party was absent from employment while fulfilling homemaking responsibilities, and the extent to which any education, skills, or experience of that party have become outmoded and his or her earning capacity diminished; (7) The time and expense required for the supported spouse to acquire the appropriate education or training to develop marketable skills and find appropriate employment; (8) The probability, given a party's age and skills, of completing education or training and becoming self-supporting; (9) The standard of living during the marriage; (10) The opportunity of either party for future acquisition of capital assets and income; (11) The ability to pay of the supporting spouse, taking into account the supporting spouse's earning capacity, earned and unearned income, assets, debts, and standard of living; (12) Any other factor which the court expressly finds to be just and proper. (General Laws of Rhode Island - Title 15 , Chapter 15-5-16)

The court will rule on a custody decision with the best interests at the forefront of the decision. In regulating the custody of the children, the court shall provide for the reasonable right of visitation by the natural parent not having custody of the children, except upon the showing of cause why the right should not be granted. The court shall mandate compliance with its order by both the custodial parent and the children. In the event of noncompliance, the noncustodial parent may file a motion for contempt in family court. Upon a finding by the court that its order for visitation has not been complied with, the court shall exercise its discretion in providing a remedy, and define the noncustodial parent's visitation in detail. However, if a second finding of noncompliance by the court is made, the court shall consider this to be grounds for a change of custody to the noncustodial parent.

After calculating support based upon court established formula and guidelines, the court, sahll consider all relevant factors including, but not limited to: (a) The financial resources of the child; (b) The financial resources of the custodial parent; (c) The standard of living the child would have enjoyed had the marriage not been dissolved; (d) The physical and emotional condition of the child and his or her educational needs; and (5) The financial resources and needs of the non-custodial parent. (General Laws of Rhode Island - Title 15 , Chapter 15-5-16, 15-5-16.2 15-5-22)

One would typically file for divorce in the state in which he or she or his or her spouse resides. If you have recently moved to a new state and wish to file in that new state, you may have to establish residency prior to filing.

If you are in the military and are stationed on a base outside your residency state, you typically are able to file in that state or in your residency state.

If you are in the military and are stationed overseas, you would typically file in your home residency state.

Yes. The system and your documents will address all the issues regarding your children such as, but not limited to; custody arrangements, visitation and time-sharing, child support, and medical coverage.

The filing and/or court fees are not included in our fee and typically range from $50.00 to $350.00 in total depending on your location of filing and whether or not you have children. The 3StepDivorce service will typically help you yield the lowest filing fee for you because both you and your spouse are in agreement.

The process takes an average of less than 1 hour to answer the required questions and generate the documents. Once you file your documents with the court according the filing procedures, the length of time will vary depending on the number of cases in front of yours. Each court has only one or just a few Judges, Masters, or Referees to review all the pending cases.

As a rule of thumb, for uncontested divorces, the spouse who really wants the divorce to be finalized typically does the filing.

The documents are filed at your local county courthouse in the family law or domestic relations division or department. Inside your account you will receive step-by-step filing procedures.

Many courts do permit you to mail and/or fax the documents. This will vary from county to county and state to state, so it will be best to check with the clerk at the courthouse when you are ready to file.

Depending on your state and your situation, you may or may not have to attend a short hearing. Most of the time when a hearing is required, it only lasts 10-15 minutes and only the filing spouse must attend. The hearing is where you will be granted your divorce and the judge will sign the final judgment or decree.

3StepDivorce is designed for you to do your own uncontested divorce without hiring a lawyer. You will be acting as your own lawyer and filing for your own divorce. Should you need or desire legal advice or should your divorce become contested, we do suggest you hire the services of a lawyer.

The wife has the option to change her name back to her former or maiden name through the 3StepDivorce solution.

The divorce is typically finalized when the Judge signs the final judgment or decree. We give a window of 30-90 days from the filing date, but this will vary due to case load at the courthouse and any mandatory waiting periods.