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Meub Gallivan Carter & Larson, Attorneys, P.C. :: We’re Here to Help You

Our approach to family law is to make the process easier for your family and you. We believe it is in our clients' best interests to minimize conflict during divorce or custody cases. However, we also believe it is paramount to protect our clients' rights, and will act aggressively and proactively when necessary. Our experience in family law provides particular advantages to individuals and estates having extensive assets with significant value. We assist clients in all aspects of the law relating to the needs of today's families, including, but not limited to:

• Divorce
• family business
• property division
• Legal Separation
• Nullity
• Paternity
• Domestic Partnerships
• Child Custody - legal and physical custody
• Visitation (including international and interstate disputes)
• Child and Spousal Support
• Relief from Abuse
• Domestic Violence
• Child Abuse
• Guardianships
• Adoption, including stepparent adoptions
• Grandparent's Rights
• Prenuptial Agreements
• Post-nuptial Agreements
• Non-Marital Cohabitation Agreements
• Family Law Appeals and Writs
• Juvenile Court Dependency Proceedings.

The following is a summary of Vermont Family Law:

VERMONT DIVORCE LAWS

Residency Requirements

To file for divorce in Vermont, either party must have been a resident of Vermont for at least 6 months before the divorce is filed. Additionally, either spouse must have been a resident for 1 year before the divorce is made final.

Where to File

The divorce may be filed for in any county where either or both of the spouses currently reside.

Grounds for Divorce

The grounds for divorce in Vermont are:

• living separate and apart for 6 consecutive months and the resumption of marital relations is not reasonably probable;
• adultery;
• imprisonment for 3 years or more or for life;
• willful desertion for 7 years;
• cruel and inhuman treatment of intolerable severity;
• incurable mental illness; and
• gross neglect.

Almost all divorces filed are based on the first grounds listed above.

VERMONT ALIMONY LAWS

Either party may be awarded spousal maintenance on a rehabilitative (temporary) or permanent. Support will be awarded if the party seeking the award:

• lacks sufficient income or property to provide for his or her reasonable needs; and
• is unable to support him or herself through appropriate employment at the standard of living established during the marriage or is the custodian of any children.

In determining the amount and duration of the award, the Court will consider the following:

• the time necessary to acquire sufficient education and training to enable the spouse to find appropriate employment, and that spouse's future earning capacity;
• the standard of living established during the marriage;
• the duration of the marriage;
• the ability of the spouse from whom support is sought to meet his or her needs while meeting those of the spouse seeking support;
• the financial resources of the spouse seeking maintenance, including property apportioned to such spouse and such spouse's ability to meet his or her needs independently;
• the age of the spouses;
• the physical and emotional conditions of the spouses; and
• the effects of inflation on the cost of living.

VERMONT PROPERTY DIVISION LAWS

All property may be divided on an equitable basis, regardless of when it was acquired or how the title is held, including any gifts and inheritances. The factors to be considered are:

• the contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of the property, including the contribution of each spouse as homemaker;
• the value of each spouse's property;
• the length of the marriage;
• the age and health of the spouses;
• the occupation of the spouses;
• the amount and sources of income of the spouses;
• the vocational skills of the spouses;
• the employability of the spouses;
• the liabilities and needs of each spouse and the opportunity of each for further acquisition of capital assets and income;
• whether the property award is instead of or in addition to maintenance;
• how and by whom the property was acquired;
• the merits of each spouse;
• any custodial provisions for the children, including the desirability of awarding the family home to the parent with custody of any children; and
• the contribution by one spouse to the education, training, or increased earning power of the other.

VERMONT CUSTODY LAWS

• Custody, referred to as "parental rights and responsibilities" is divided into physical custody, legal custody and visitation (referred to as "parent-child contact.") Physical responsibilities refers to where the child physically resides and the rights and responsibilities to provide routine daily care and control of the child. This can be awarded solely to one parent, or jointly to both parents. When one parent is awarded sole physical rights and responsibilities, the other parent is almost always awarded visitation rights (unless visitation would cause harm to the child). Legal responsibilities refers to decisions regarding issues like medical care, education and religion. This can also be awarded solely or jointly. A parent who does not have legal rights and responsibilities still has the right to have access to all of the child's records.

The Court will award parental rights and responsibilities based upon the best interests of the child, and upon a consideration of all relevant factors, including the following:

• the wishes of the parents;
• the child's adjustment to his or her home, school, and community;
• the relationship of the child with parents, siblings, and other significant family members;
• the ability and disposition of each parent to provide love, affection, and guidance;
• the ability of each parent to provide food, clothing, medical care, other material needs, and a safe environment;
• the ability of each parent to meet the child's present and future developmental needs;
• the ability and disposition of each parent to foster a positive relationship and frequent and continuing contact with the other parent, including physical contact unless it will result in harm to the child or parent;
• the quality of the child's relationship with the primary care provider, given the child's age and development; and
• the ability and disposition of the parents to communicate, cooperate with each other, and make joint decisions concerning the children where parental rights and responsibilities are to be shared; and
• evidence of abuse; and
• which parent has been and is the primary caretaker for the child.

CHILD SUPPORT LAWS

• Vermont has official child support guidelines for the calculation of child support. The amount arrived at under the guidelines is presumed to be correct, unless they are shown to be unfair under the circumstances. The Court will also consider the following factors in determining child support:

• the financial resources of the child;
• the standard of living the child would have enjoyed if the marriage had not been dissolved;
• the physical and emotional conditions and educational needs of the child;
• the financial resources, needs, and obligations of both the non-custodial and the custodial parent;
• inflation with relation to the cost of living;
• the costs of any educational needs of either parent
• any travel expenses related to parent-child contact; and
• any other relevant factors.

The Court may order additional payments to support the child called "maintenance supplement" if there child has additional needs which are not met by the child support payment.

MODIFICATION OF EXISTING ORDERS

An existing order of the Family Court, whether issued after a hearing or stipulation of the parties, only can be modified if the party first proves that there is a real, substantial, unanticipated change of circumstances. For example, a child support order might be changed by the Court if the non-custodial parent is laid off from work. Or, an order for a specific visitation/contact schedule might be changed if one parent moves out of state.

Call for a free consulataion
(802) 747-0610

Meub Gallivan Carter & Larson, Attorneys, P.C. is located in Rutland, Vermont, and serves clients in Rutland, Bennington, and Addison Counties as well as throughout the state of Vermont

Copyright © 2009 by Meub Gallivan Carter & Larson, Attorneys, P.C.. All rights reserved.