Rhode Island Divorce Tips

Question on RI Divorce Proceedure

To Serve My RI Divorce Papers Does it Matter if I Use the Rhode Island Sheriff's Department or a Constable?

Answer

The legal answer is that your Rhode Island divorce papers must be served by a Rhode Island Sheriff's Department for the County where your spouse lives or a constable licensed to serve family law papers in the county where your spouse lives.  The only other option is when the court specially appoints someone to make service of process by an order of the court.

The more psychological answer from my personal views is that it is always best to use a constable.  This is not to slight our wonderful Rhode Island Sheriff's Departments in the least. However, in a divorce situation I believe it is a better practice to use a licensed if you want your divorce to proceed successfully to its end sooner rather than later.

Let's face it, seeing a fully decked out sheriff's department car pulling up to your house or your work and a deputy sheriff in full uniform to serve your spouse is bound to cause some anxiety even in the best of circumstances.  

Too many spouses receiving papers under those circumstances are likely to feel anxiety, degradation, embarassment, and anger about the way in which they were served. The anger in particular is almost always directed at the spouse who had them served in this way.  

Yet a plain car with a plain clothed constable bringing the papers it isn't so ominous, threatening, or embarassing and isn't as likely to generate that anger.  If you work with your spouse when taking care of the service part of your divorce process, then it is easier to arrange a cautious and respectful service rather than shock to your spouse.  This can minimize or even eliminate the impact this important part of the process may have on your divorce.

You don't start the process of getting honey from the bee by kicking the beehive, right?  So why kick your spouse at the beginning of your divorce process when they may believe you are trying to take something from them.  

In both cases, if you get them angry they can have a nasty sting.

All My Best to You on Your Journey Through The RI Family Court,
Attorney Christopher A. Pearsall - "The Rhode Island Divorce Coach"™  

 As a dedicated divorce and family law attorney for more than a dozen years, I look forward to the privilege of serving your needs.

Call me for your affordable advice session at (401) 632-6976.

Question:

Can an attorney demand I appear (via voice message only) in a family court proceeding without a subpoena?

Answer:

Unfortunately you don't state the circumstances or nature of the proceeding. I will provide you information only regarding family court and Rhode Island Domestic Relations law.

No. Under Rhode Island Domestic Relations law you must be served with the subpoena and fees must be tendered to you by law for one day's attendance and mileage at a minimum. A voice message by itself from an attorney for your appearance in any Rhode Island Family Court does not constitute valid authority requiring you to appear.

Authored by:

Christopher A. Pearsall, Esquire
PEARSALL LAW ASSOCIATES
70 Dogwood Drive, Suite 304
West Warwick, RI  02893
Phone:  (401) 632-6976

Attorney Pearsall's practice is focused almost exclusively in the areas of Divorce and Family law.

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NOTE:  The postings on this website are NOT legal advice, DO NOT create an attorney/client relationship and are NOT a substitute for a detailed consultation with an attorney experienced in the state where you have your legal issue.  This site is based on Rhode Island and is presented for the convenience of the internet public.

* The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all lawyers in the general practice of law and has no procedure for recognition of specialty in any area of law.

Some people actually are confused about when they are truly divorced.  The confusion is understandable though.  Let me explain why and answer the question.

Most Rhode Island Divorces are resolved at a Nominal Hearing.  This is a hearing where everything is agreed upon and the formalities required for the court to establish jurisdiction, find the basis for the divorce, waiver of alimony, etc. . . as required
by law are simply put on the record of the court.

At the end of a Nominal Hearing, just as at the end of a trial, the hearing judge among other things grants a divorce to one or both parties.

If you simply listen to the words of the hearing judge without knowing that Rhode Island Law requires a 91 day waiting period before a judge may sign a Final Judgment of Divorce you might easily think that you are divorced at that very moment.

The answer to the question is that you are not divorced until a Final Judgment of Divorce is signed by a family court judge and entered by the clerk of court into the records of the family court.

Authored by:

Christopher A. Pearsall, Esquire
PEARSALL LAW ASSOCIATES
70 Dogwood Drive, Suite 304
West Warwick, RI  02893
Phone:  (401) 632-6976

Attorney Pearsall's practice is focused almost exclusively in the areas of Divorce and Family law.

NOTE:  The postings on this website are NOT legal advice, DO NOT create an attorney/client relationship and are NOT a substitute for a detailed consultation with an attorney experienced in the state where you have your legal issue.  This site is based on Rhode Island and is presented for the convenience of the internet public.

* The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all lawyers in the general practice of law and has no procedure for recognition of specialty in any area of law.

Atty Chris Pearsall

Authored By:  Christopher Pearsall, RI Divorce Attorney
a.k.a.  " The Rhode Island Divorce Coach ℠ "

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The Rhode Island General Laws give the Rhode Island Family Court and it's Judges the power to make an equitable distribution of the marital estate.

But what does it mean, generally speaking, to make an "equitable distribution." 

Let's extract all the legalese from the statutes and simply approach it from a practical perspective and I'm quite certain our common sense can digest what the framers of the statute intended.

"Distribution" means to divide, to separate, or to apportion.  That is fairly straightforward.  The court has a job to look at the marital estate (whatever the judge may determine it to be) in a Rhode Island Divorce proceeding and divide it, separate it or apportion it between the parties. 

Since children are not property or something owned by either parent you can be fairly certain that they aren't part of the marital estate so you don't have to worry about the distribution of your kids.  Although some parents might like to distribute the more difficult ones to the other parent on occasion.  Just kidding.

Now we can look at "equitable" and determine what that is.  Equitable is a word having its origins in the french language in the mid-sixteenth century from the word "equite".  (Sorry, I was unable to duplicate the french accents in  this posting in order to recreate the word properly.)  From this derivation we have today's meaning of equitable which means fair, just, impartial, evenhanded, unbiased and neutral. 

If you look at the word "equitable" you can see that it is intended to be something that is viewed from the outside of the circumstances looking in, otherwise it could not be impartial, evenhanded, unbiased or neutral.

Thus, if we put these two definitions together with these observations we can see that an equitable distribution of the marital estate is supposed to be an impartial view from the outside of the relationship looking in where the judge balances the circumstances surrounding the relationship to determine how the marital estate, be it a debt or an assets, should be apportioned to each party. 

In its most simplistic form, the court will distribute the marital estate in a manner that is fair and impartial given all the circumstances surrounding the parties' marriage.

The word "nominal" is generally defined as meaning something "small, brief or of little consequence or value."  In its root form its literal translation was akin to "in name only".   In Rhode Island Divorce proceedings you can understand a Rhode Island Nominal Hearing by thinking of it as a combination of its linguistic roots and its modern day definition.

A Nominal Hearing is a divorce hearing in which there are no "disputes" presented before the court for determination and the court is only required to make determinations regarding those issues required to be addressed as required by law in order for the judge to grant a divorce.  Since the hearing presents no disputes, it is typically very brief and usually lasts less than twenty (20 to 30) minutes.  It may be considered a hearing "in name only" because you are merely presenting to the court matters that are not in dispute and the proceeding becomes something akin to a formalization of what relief is requested by the court.

This is an excerpt.  To read the full article click here

Authored by:

Christopher A. Pearsall, Esquire
PEARSALL LAW ASSOCIATES
571 Pontiac Avenue
Cranston, RI  02910
Phone:  (401) 354-2369

Attorney Pearsall's practice is focused almost exclusively in the areas of Divorce and Family law.

NOTE:  The postings on this website are NOT legal advice, DO NOT create an attorney/client relationship and are NOT a substitute for a detailed consultation with an attorney experienced in the state where you have your legal issue.  This site is based on Rhode Island and is presented for the convenience of the internet public.

* The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all lawyers in the general practice of law and has no procedure for recognition of specialty in any area of law.