Residency Requirements

Either you or your spouse may file for divorce in Alaska as long as the filing spouse is a resident of the state. Generally, you are an Alaska resident for the purposes of filing for divorce if you are in Alaska when you file and intend to stay as a resident. Also, if you don’t live in Alaska and were married outside of Alaska, but your spouse is an Alaska resident, you can file for divorce in Alaska. The final divorce decree cannot be signed in Alaska until at least 30 days have passed since filing the divorce papers.

Grounds for Divorce

A divorce may be granted for any of the following grounds:

• failure to consummate the marriage at the time of the marriage and continuing at the commencement of the action;
• adultery;
• conviction of a felony;
• willful desertion for a period of one year;
• either:
  • cruel and inhuman treatment calculated to impair health or endanger life;
  • personal indignities rendering life burdensome; or
  • incompatibility of temperament;
• habitual gross drunkenness contracted since marriage and continuing for one year prior to the commencement of the action;
• incurable mental illness when the spouse has been confined to an institution for a period of at least 18 months immediately preceding the commencement of the action; the status as to the support and maintenance of the mentally ill person is not altered in any way by the granting of the divorce; or
• addiction of either party, subsequent to the marriage, to the habitual use of opium, morphine, cocaine, or a similar drug.

Division of Property

Alaskan courts will divide all property, including retirement benefits, acquired during the marriage in a just manner regardless of fault. However, the court may invade property acquired before the marriage and award it to the other party to balance the equities between the two spouses. When making its decision on whom to award property to, the court will consider the following factors:

• the length of the marriage and station in life of the parties during the marriage;
• the age and health of the parties;
• the earning capacity of the parties, including their educational backgrounds, training, employment skills, work experiences, length of absence from the job market, and custodial responsibilities for children during the marriage;
• the financial condition of the parties, including the availability and cost of health insurance;
• the conduct of the parties, including whether there has been unreasonable depletion of marital assets;
• the desirability of awarding the family home, or the right to live in it for a reasonable period of time, to the party who has primary physical custody of children;
• the circumstances and necessities of each party;
• the time and manner of acquisition of the property in question; and
• the income-producing capacity of the property and the value of the property at the time of division.

Spousal Support

Maintenance may be awarded for a limited or indefinite period of time, in lump sum payments or installments, and without regard to which of the parties is at fault. The award of maintenance is based on a consideration of the following factors:

• the length of the marriage and station in life of the parties during the marriage;
• the age and health of the parties;
• the earning capacity of the parties, including their educational backgrounds, training, employment skills, work experiences, length of absence from the job market, and custodial responsibilities for children during the marriage;
• the financial condition of the parties, including the availability and cost of health insurance;
• the conduct of the parties, including whether there has been unreasonable depletion of marital assets;
• the division of property; and
• other factors the court determines to be relevant in each individual case.

Child Custody

In order for the Alaska court to have jurisdiction or authority to decide about child custody, a child normally must have been a resident of the state for at least 6 months before filing the custody case. Otherwise, the court may not have jurisdiction to decide custody issues. The court will determine child custody by using the best interests of the child standard. Such factors include:

• the physical, emotional, mental, religious, and social needs of the child;
• the capability and desire of each parent to meet these needs;
• the child’s preference if the child is of sufficient age and capacity to form a preference;
• the love and affection existing between the child and each parent;
• the length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining continuity;
• the willingness and ability of each parent to facilitate and encourage a close and continuing relationship between the other parent and the child, except that the court may not consider this willingness and ability if one parent shows that the other parent has sexually assaulted or engaged in domestic violence against the parent or a child, and that a continuing relationship with the other parent will endanger the health or safety of either the parent or the child;
• any evidence of domestic violence, child abuse, or child neglect in the proposed custodial household or a history of violence between the parents;
• evidence that substance abuse by either parent or other members of the household directly affects the emotional or physical well-being of the child; and
• other factors that the court considers pertinent.

Child Support

Child Support is calculated according to Court Civil Rule 90.3. When someone has primary physical custody, the payments are based on what the noncustodial parent earns. Primary physical custody refers to the parent with whom the child resides at least 70% of the time. That court rule says that the noncustodial parent of one child should pay 20% of his or her adjusted income to support one child. Adjusted income means earning after deductions for taxes, union dues, retirement deductions and other mandatory deductions.

Sources

Sources: http://www.childsupport.alaska.gov/; Alaska Legal Resource Center; http://www.courts.alaska.gov/;http://www.legis.state.ak.us/