Tennessee Divorce Laws-Frequently Asked Questions |
| |
| 1. What is meant by legal divorce?
Divorce or dissolution of a marriage is the name given to ending up of a marriage. If the court declares a divorce legal then it will be a legal divorce. The court gives each individual legal rights in case of assets, liabilities and child custody. |
|
| 2. What is legal separation?
Legal separation is a court order declaring that the spouses are not living together and have settled down all the issues related to the property and custody. The only differnece between divorce and separation is that in separation both the spouses remains married, while divorce is the termination of marriage. |
| |
| 3. Where should I file a divorce if I have left the marital home and moved to another state?
According to Tennessee divorce laws, one spouse must be living in the state to claim a Tennessee divorce. You can also file a divorce in the state where you and your spouse last lived together. |
| |
| 4. Can I really change my last name during the divorce process?
Yes you can. According to Tennessee divorce laws, the only restriction about changing the name is that a person cannot change the name only for committing a fraud. |
| |
| 5. How much time a Tennessee divorce will take?
After filing an uncontested Tennessee divorce it might take about 2-6 months including 60 days cooling-off period, if there are no children involved. In case of children it takes 90 days to get divorced. |
| |
| 6. What are the complications and how much will they cost?
If your spouse has moved out to another state and started living there, then you have to serve divorce papers to your spouse out of state. Serving of divorce papers means giving offical divorce notice. Serving of papers might be expensive depending on the sheriff charges which are usually $75. Publishing a notice in the newpaper might be more costly. |
| |
| 7. I have lost my job and can't afford a divorce lawyer, can I represent myself?
Yes, you can represent yourself in the court, but it will be better for you to hire a divorce lawyer. |
| |
| 8. Is child support amount changeable?
After the fixation of the amount for child support by the court, it can be modified under certain circumstances. According to Tennessee divorce laws, you have to file a petition for modification. |
| |
9. How will the court decide child custody issue. Is there any law constituted for that?
Yes, Tennessee divorce laws have a law constituted expressly for handling child cusotdy issue.If the spouses do not agree upon the child custody issue, then the court will consider the best interest of child and other related issues and declares the custody either jointly or solely. |
| |
| 10. What is alimony?
Alimony is the amount paid by one spouse to another to meet financial requirements. |
| |
| 11. What is the time period for alimony?
|
| |
| 12. Me and my spouse want to hire the same divorce lawyer, can we?
No, it isn't possible because according to the Tennessee divorce laws, one divorce lawyer cannot represent two people at the same time in the court. |
| |
| 13. How much the court charges for a Tennessee divorce?
The court charges $250-$400 for a Tennessee uncontested divorce. |
