WomensLaw serves and supports all survivors.

Legal Information: Rhode Island

Divorce

Laws current as of July 19, 2024

What are the basic steps for filing for divorce?

Divorce laws vary by state, but here are the basic steps:

  1. Meet residency requirements - You or your spouse must live in the state or territory for enough time to meet the residency requirements.
  2. Determine grounds for divorce - You must have “grounds,” a legally acceptable reason, to end your marriage.
  3. File and serve divorce papers - You must file divorce papers and have copies sent to your spouse. To learn more about filing a summons, preparing a petition, and service of process, go to the Starting the Court Case page in our Preparing for Court – By Yourself section. (If your spouse is in a foreign country, consult a lawyer about international service.)
  4. Spouse’s response - Your spouse can disagree or agree with your divorce papers. Below, we lay out various scenarios of what could happen:

If your spouse…

Then…
  • disagrees with anything in your divorce papers
  • s/he can file a response to what you said in your divorce papers and file a “counterclaim” stating his/her own divorce grounds; this is called a “contested divorce;”
  • you will have to go to court to sort out the issues; and
  • this kind of the divorce is usually more expensive and takes longer.
  • agrees with everything in your divorce papers
  • s/he should sign your divorce papers and send them back to you or the court; this is called an “uncontested divorce;”
  • you may only have to see the judge one or two times or not at all; and
  • this kind of the divorce is usually cheaper and quicker.
  • doesn’t respond within a certain time, meaning s/he doesn’t sign your divorce papers or file his/her own
  • you may be able to have an uncontested divorce anyway; and
  • you can ask a lawyer in your area how long you must wait to see if your spouse answers before you can continue with the divorce.
  1. Resolve divorce issues - You will have to deal with the issues of marital property and debt, finances, and children. As part of the divorce, the judge will:
  • divide up property, money, or debt from your marriage;
  • decide whether either spouse gets spousal support during or after the divorce; and
  • make an arrangement for child custody and child support for any children you have together.

If possible, you and your spouse can resolve these issues by agreeing to an out-of-court settlement. This type of agreement is usually made with the help of lawyers. If you can’t agree, or if it’s unsafe for you to deal with your spouse directly to discuss these issues, the judge will decide these issues after a series of court hearings.

 

Legal Information

© 2008–2024 WomensLaw.org is a project of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, Inc. All rights reserved. This website is funded in part through a grant from the Office for Victims of Crime, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Neither the U.S. Department of Justice nor any of its components operate, control, are responsible for, or necessarily endorse, this website (including, without limitation, its content, technical infrastructure, and policies, and any services or tools provided). NNEDV is a 501©(3) non-profit organization; EIN 52-1973408.