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- What are the residency requirements for divorce in Rhode Island?
- What are the grounds for divorce in Rhode Island?
- Can I get alimony?
- What are the basic steps for filing for divorce?
- Where can I find additional information about divorce laws in Rhode Island?
- Is there anything I can do if my abusive partner continually files court proceedings against me?
What are the residency requirements for divorce in Rhode Island?
To get divorced in Rhode Island, you or your spouse must have lived in the state for at least one year before filing the divorce complaint. If you or your spouse is in the U.S. Armed Forces or Merchant Marine and had to leave Rhode Island for service, you are still considered a Rhode Island resident during your service and for 30 days after.1
1 R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-12
What are the grounds for divorce in Rhode Island?
Grounds are the legally acceptable reasons for getting a divorce. Rhode Island has no-fault and fault-based grounds for divorce.
No-Fault Divorce
You can get a no-fault divorce if you and your spouse have irreconcilable differences that have caused an irreparable breakdown of your marriage. In this type of divorce, the judge does not consider blame or any claims of wrongdoing.1
Fault-Based Divorce
If you don’t want to go the no-fault divorce route, the other option is to get a divorce by proving that your spouse is responsible (“at fault”) for the breakdown of your marriage. Fault-based reasons include if your spouse:
- is impotent;
- cheats on you (adultery);
- treats you with extreme cruelty;
- deserts you for five years or a for shorter period of time as decided by the judge;
- is continually drunk;
- is addicted to opium, morphine, or chloral, referred to in the law as “habitual, excessive, and intemperate” use;
- engages in any other “gross misbehavior” or “wickedness” that violates the marriage vows, such as sexually inappropriate or immoral behavior; or
- neglects you and refuses to support you even when able to, for at least one year. Note: This ground only applies to a husband who neglects and refuses to support his wife, not vice versa.2
1 R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-3.1
2 R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-2
Can I get alimony?
Can I get alimony?
Alimony is financial support one spouse may pay the other when a divorce is granted. To decide how much alimony to award, if any, a judge will consider several factors, including:
- how long you were married;
- behavior of both spouses during the marriage;
- age and health of both spouses;
- each spouse’s job, skills, income, and ability to be hired (employability);
- financial needs and debts;
- if one spouse has primary physical custody of the child, whether the child’s age, condition, or circumstances affects the ability to work outside of the home; and
- each spouse’s ability to be “self-supporting.”1
To decide whether each spouse is self-supporting, the judge will consider:
- any time either you or your spouse did not have a job because of homemaking responsibilities and, as a result, the extent to which:
- any education, skills, or experience has become outdated; or
- earning capacity has been diminished;
- the time and money that would be needed to get education or training in order to get a new job;
- the age and skills of you and your spouse, and the probability of completing the education or training needed to become self-supporting;
- the standard of living during the marriage;
- whether you or your spouse may obtain more income or assets in the future;
- your spouse’s ability to pay you support; and
- any other factors that the judge thinks are important.2
The purpose of alimony is to provide you with support while you get back on your feet, but a judge can grant you alimony for an indefinite period of time if s/he finds that it is appropriate to do so after considering the time and expense required for you to get the proper training and education to find appropriate employment.3
From time to time, a judge may review and change the amount of alimony if you or your ex-spouse requests it. The judge has the option to make the new payment amount retroactive to the date when the substantial change in circumstances happened. Your alimony award automatically ends if you get remarried.3
1 R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-16(b)(1)
2 R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-16(b)(2)
3 R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-16(c)(2)
What are the basic steps for filing for divorce?
Divorce laws vary by state, but here are the basic steps:
- Meet residency requirements - You or your spouse must live in the state or territory for enough time to meet the residency requirements.
- Determine grounds for divorce - You must have “grounds,” a legally acceptable reason, to end your marriage.
- 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.)
- Spouse’s response - Your spouse can disagree or agree with your divorce papers. Below, we lay out various scenarios of what could happen:
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- 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.
Where can I find additional information about divorce laws in Rhode Island?
Rhode Island Legal Services provides this overview on the basic divorce process.
The Rhode Island Bar Association has a short page on how divorce law affects you.
The Rhode Island Judiciary has family court forms available in English and Spanish.
WomensLaw.org is unrelated to the above organizations and cannot vouch for the accuracy of their sites. We provide these links for your information only.
You will find more information about divorce, including the risks of taking your children out of state while a divorce is pending, on our general Divorce page. To watch brief videos about divorce in Spanish with English sub-titles, go to our Videos page. Lastly, learn more about the court process on our Preparing for Court – By Yourself page.
Is there anything I can do if my abusive partner continually files court proceedings against me?
Abusers often misuse court proceedings in order to continue the abuse. This is called abusive litigation. If you are the victim of abusive litigation by someone who the court has already determined committed abuse, stalking, or sexual assault against you, you can ask the judge to issue an order restricting abusive litigation. See our Litigation Abuse section for more information on how to do this.
