Civil Union Frequently Asked Questions
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 How do I dissolve my civil union? |
The Vermont Family Court has jurisdiction over all proceedings relating to dissolution of civil unions. It follows the same procedures as dissolving a civil marriage (divorce), and is subject to the same rights and obligations, including a Vermont residency requirement of 12 months before a dissolution is granted.
You will need to address division of your property and debts. If you have children you will need to decide parental rights and responsibilities (custody), parent-child contact (visitation) and arrange for child support.
The family court has forms and other information pamphlets that will give you more information for filing for dissolution of your civil union.
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Marriage Related
Questions
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| After the court has issued a Final Divorce Order can you make a change to it? |
By law you have to show to the Court, that it is because of important “unanticipated changes in circumstances.”
You CANNOT make changes to a Final Order dealing with your property.You can request the court change child support, spousal maintenance (alimony)and parental rights and responsibilities.
If there have been important, unanticipated, changes in circumstances after theorder was issued, you may request the court to change part of the divorce plan. Youcannot change the plan outlining how to divide your property, but child support,spousal maintenance (alimony) and parental rights and responsibilities may bemodified. (See pamphlets on Modification of Child Support (#32) and Modification of
Court Orders (#31). The court must approve changes to the divorce order beforethey are valid. Therefore it is important that an agreement reached to change courtorders be put in writing and that you ask the judge to change the divorce order.You can obtain helpful information, as well as court forms at:www.VermontJudiciary.org.
| | How are decisions made in a Divorce? |
Once the divorce has been started in the Family Court, decisions must be maderegarding parenting of children, support and what to do with property. Contrary topopular belief, judges rarely decide the difficult questions in the divorce. Most peopledo not like giving up their right to determine for themselves how to take care of theirchildren and how to divide up their property and income. Therefore, most cases areresolved by agreements made by the people involved rather than the judge.
In a contested hearing (trial), the parties present their case to a judge, never to ajury. Each spouse has a limited amount of time in which to present information. Thejudge follows rules (known as the Rules of Evidence,) that often limit the type of
information that may be presented. As a judge can never learn in a trial as muchabout a family and what is best for the children as the families know, people who let
the judge make the decisions are not always happy with the result.
| | How do I prepare for a Contested Hearing on Property Division? |
If you and your spouse cannot agree on how to divide all your property, you still mayhave some agreement, which you can put in writing and file with the court before thehearing. With personal property (cars, furniture etc.) you should write a list of whatyou cannot agree upon and what you believe the market value is for each item. Ifyou cannot agree on the market value of cars, boats, or other expensive property,
you may want to get an appraisal and bring the appraiser as a witness to thehearing.
You should prepare what you want to tell to the judge in the same manner as thefactors identified above, starting with how many years you have been married, yourage and health etc. You should bring documentation to court that shows the value ofthe property, such as your house appraisal, bank statements, pension or retirementor other investment statements. You should also bring documentation about the
debts on the property and other debts from your marriage.
| | How does being in the military affect the court process and court orders? |
The law protects a spouse on active duty in the military and sometimes hearings are postponed or suspended until the service member can participate. The purpose of the law is to enable service members to devote full attention to their duties.
If the ability of the service member to either defend or pursue a court matter is "materially affected" by his or her military service, the court is required to wait. Thus if a spouse cannot attend a hearing due to military service, and the outcome will depend on his participation, the hearing may be postponed. Under normal circumstances, however, temporary decisions regarding parental rights and responsibilities and child support will be decided in the absence of the service member spouse in order to protect the best interest of the children involved.
Reservists and members of the National Guard are also protected by this law while on active duty.
| | How does filing for bankruptcy change my financial obligations in family court? |
Filing for bankruptcy does not change the child support obligation; you will still have to pay your child support under the child support order in effect. Filing for bankruptcy also does not generally change alimony or maintenance obligations; you usually will have to continue to pay your alimony or maintenance.
Once a bankruptcy petition is filed with the Bankruptcy Court, the Family Court cannot change or modify child support or maintenance payments. This is because the Vermont State courts cannot make any orders, except enforcement of support orders, while the bankruptcy is being handled in Bankruptcy Court.
Filing for bankruptcy can affect a divorce property settlement. Typically, if one spouse owes another spouse some property as part of a divorce order, this property award can be "discharged," or canceled, in bankruptcy. If possible, you should try to make sure that you get a mortgage on any real property that you are awarded, or that you get a security interest in any personal property that is awarded to you in the divorce.
You should consult an experienced bankruptcy lawyer, if you think there is a possibility that your spouse will file for bankruptcy if there are outstanding property and support obligations in a divorce.
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