Kansas Divorce Legal Questions

In Kansas, spousal maintenance (formerly known as alimony) is based on a party's financial need, and the other party's ability to pay. Not all cases require a spousal maintenance payment. The amount of spousal maintenance is normally based on a percentage of the differential in the two parties' incomes. You may also consider negotiating a trade of the house for a waiver of spousal maintenance, but there are tax implications in that situation.... Read More

In Kansas, common law marriage is valid if three separate conditions are all met: 1) the parties have the ability to get married (normally meaning they are of age and are not already married); 2) the parties intend to be married to each other; and 3) the parties hold themselves out to the public as being husband and wife. If the parties file a "married filing jointly" tax return, then that would satisfy the condition about holding themselves out to the public as being husband and wife, but the first two conditions may not be met. If only the third condition is met, then the parties are not married under common law, but they have filed a false tax return.... Read More

Great question, because you are right, the concept of fairness should always be considered in divorce actions. Many areas of the law come into play when divorces are filed and litigated. Always remember that the debt/liability contracts that existed before the divorce was filed still must be considered and be dealt with during and after the divorce. In your car loan example, the car loan company can pursue any party or parties who signed the loan contract, because the loan company did not grant credit conditioned on the parties staying married. In most jurisdictions, the divorce court can order one or both divorcing parties to actually make the loan payments, but the loan company can still pursue one or both of the parties who signed the loan contract if the payments are not made. The situation can get even more complicated when bankruptcy is involved. Generally, the divorce court will not make financial decisions based on who filed the divorce, because there are too many reasons (good or bad) why one party may or may not have decided to be the one who files.... Read More

I am a Utah divorce and family law attorney, and so my comments will relate to Utah law. The Utah Code, Section 30-1-17.1, governs annulment: Annulment Grounds for. A marriage may be annulled for any of the following causes existing at the time of the marriage: (1) When the marriage is prohibited or void under Title 30, Chapter 1. (2) Upon grounds existing at common law. I won't keep you in suspense a moment longer regarding your question about whether fornicating before marriage with another person constitutes a basis for annulment: 64 A.L.R.2d 742 - Concealed premarital unchastity or parenthood as ground of divorce or annulment ? 2. General rule and applications Apart from the questions of pregnancy at the time of marriage and extraordinary circumstances or fraud which the record may show was an inducement to consent to the marriage contract, it is a general rule that premarital unchastity or the bearing of a child out of wedlock, although concealed by one of the parties contracting a marriage, will not afford a ground for divorce or annulment, absent statutory basis in that regard, or amount to fraud which will have that effect. American Jurisprudence, Second Edition (Database updated November 2013) Annulment of Marriage, Thomas Muskus, J.D. ? 13. Premarital unchastity As a general rule, a marriage will not be annulled by one of the parties on the basis of one of the parties' chastity prior to the marriage, especially where such premarital sexual activity does not result in pregnancy at the time of the marriage. Similarly, prenuptial unchastity of a husband, although concealed from his wife at the time of marriage, is not ground for annulment. Observation: It has been stated that the rule denying annulment for unchastity recognizes no difference in de-gree of unchasteness or promiscuity, whether it is for hire or not.[4] ? 14. Prenuptial pregnancy or parenthood As a general rule, pregnancy before marriage, concealed from the husband, who has not had sexual relations with the wife previous to the marriage, is considered a fraud which is a sufficient ground for the annulment of the marriage. Clearly, a man cannot have a marriage annulled because his wife is pregnant by him at the time of the marriage. The fact that a woman falsely represented, before her marriage to the plaintiff, that her minor daughter was the child of a former marriage, is insufficient to support an annulment. Also, the failure of a husband, prior to his marriage, to disclose that he had had an illegitimate child by another woman is in itself insufficient to show fraud necessary to warrant annulment of the marriage. Grounds (from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/annulment) State law governs the grounds for annulling a voidable marriage. Couples should not be obligated by the serious duties incident to marriage if both parties did not genuinely intend to be married. Fraud is the most prevalent ground for annulment. The Misrepresentation, whether by lies or concealment of the truth, must encompass something directly pertinent to the marriage, such as religion, children, or sex, which society considers the foundation of a marital relationship. Physical or emotional conditions may also be grounds for annulment, particularly when they interfere with sexual relations or procreation. Other health conditions providing grounds for annulment include alcoholism, incurable insanity, and epilepsy. The mere existence of one of these conditions is a sufficient ground for an annulment in some states, whereas in others, an annulment may be obtained for fraud if such a condition was concealed. Courts may also annul marriages that involved lack of consent, mistake, or duress. Lack of consent might arise if one party were senile, drunk, underage, or suffering from serious mental illness, or if there was no genuine intent to marry. A mistake as to some essential element of the marriage may also justify a... Read More

Since the divorce is not finished, you can come to an agreement in the property division that you get the house. However, unless you are able to pull the house out of foreclosure by paying what is owed, there is no point to it. You also don't say whether the person who filed the petition listed how property should be divided. That could be significant if you have to get a default judgment to end the divorce.... Read More