US States with Pro-women Divorce Laws
In United States, divorce like marriage is governed by state rather than federal laws and as a result, divorce laws vary from one state to another. So it is important to know the laws of the state in which you are planning to file divorce as the legal process and provisions will be governed according to the laws of the relevant state. If you are a woman and wish to have the best chances of protecting your interests, here is a bit about states in USA with divorce laws favoring women more than men.
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California
California has special laws in place for women who have given up a chunk of their working lives to look after home and family and then find themselves staring at the prospect of uncertain income as a result of divorce. among the provisions which determine spousal support in this state is The extent to which that spouse's present or future earning capacity was impaired by periods of unemployment during the marriage to permit the supported party to devote time to domestic duties interfering with the interests of dependent children in the custody of the party. Also Child support in California is typically ten times what it is in states like Georgia or Nevada, according to Randall M. Kessler, chairman of the American Bar Association's Section on Family Law.
Yet another reason why California may be the state of choice for divorcing women is that if offers community property division. like eight other - Arizona, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin, California is a community property state where except as otherwise provided by statute, all property, real or personal, wherever situated, acquired by a married person during the marriage while domiciled in this state is community property; thus in event of a divorce, the court divides the community estate of the parties equally. This is especially useful for women who have substantially less property, possessions and income as compared to her husband.
The rest forty-one states divide property in the event of a divorce by the equitable-distribution method, based on what the court deems fair, with no rule for an even split or other mathematical formula. So if you are a woman and live in an equitable distribution state, do not expect a substantial payout from the divorce in event of a short-lived marriage.
Colorado
If you have been earning less than your husband and have been in a long marriage, you may consider filing petition for divorce in Colorado. The state has a "temporary" maintenance formula of 40% of the higher income minus 50% of the lower income that is often just carried over into the permanent award, regardless of the lower-earning spouse's ability to support themselves or the property division. So women, who have been married longer than 20 years, can look forward to lifetime alimony from the divorce courts.
Florida
Yet another state which has provisions for awarding permanent alimony is Florida. Here marriages lasting longer than twenty years typically trigger lifetime alimony payments. Sometimes even in case of shorter marriages, the higher-income earner can be ordered to pay permanent alimony. This is especially beneficial for married women who have always earned lesser than their husband and have been in a long term marriage. in general the quantum of alimony is not fixed - If the standard of living must drop after a divorce, as it often does, the burden is usually equally shared. In Florida, that is not always the case2 and a divorced man can be ordered to keep up the amount of alimony as was decided in the divorced agreement.
Illinois
Illinois calculates child support using the "net income" of the non-custodial parent, number of children, child support paid due to prior marriage, alimony paid to prior spouse, and health insurance costs. Illinois' child support formula is definitely one of top states for child support since in this state it is roughly 22.5% of the Non-Custodial Parent's Gross Salary for child support3, also Custodial Parent Income is Not Considered in Formula for calculation of child support. So whether you are a stay-at-home mom or working mom, if you have custody, you will get substantial child support from the non-custodial partner. In fact in some cases, even with shared custody, the father will pay a set percentage of his income for child support even if the mother has a higher income.
“Alienation of Affection” states
If you are divorcing your husband because he has been unfaithful to you, there are seven states which give the right to sue the lover of the other spouse for damages.
These include Hawaii, Illinois, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Dakota and Utah. In legal terms, these states allow you to file "alienation of affection" suits, in case an "outsider" interferes in your marriage. The law allowing such legal action originated in earlier times when a wife was considered the property of a husband. A cuckolded husband could go after his wife's lover -- not with a gun, but with the law. In modern times though the law can be used both by men and women as compensation for the emotional distress caused by a cheating spouse. In fact if you are planning to sue your erring husband’s lover, North Carolina may be a good choice since Juries in North Carolina have handed out awards in excess of $1 million on multiple occasions4.
But if you are the one who has been unfaithful, be careful of divorcing in North Carolina because the state bars alimony to a dependent spouse who has committed adultery.
However before you decide to go venue-shopping in order to pick the best state to divorce your husband, use caution. Judges look askance at practice especially if it is solely based on your desire to extract more money as spousal and/or child support. Indeed if the shopper's intent is discovered, the court may be prejudiced against you. Further, the judge may take pity on your estranged spouse, especially where the entire family, young children included, has been uprooted to achieve the move. above all, while divorce laws in most states are becoming more and more gender-neutral; this coupled with no-fault divorce in all states as well as focus on shared parenting after divorce means that increasingly it is the merits of your case that will decide the provisions rather than your gender.
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