Residency Requirements:
Alaska has no residency requirements in order to start a divorce.
While a long residency period may be required in a contested divorced if
there are issues concerning children or a spouse who does not agree, the
divorce could be granted within 30 days from the day of filing in an
uncontested divorce.
General Divorce Procedure:
If the grounds are incompatibility of temperament, the spouses can ask the
court together to end the marriage, if:
1) If there are minor children or the wife is pregnant, and both parties
agreed on custody, visitation and support for the children. In addition,
they agree on whether support payments will be made through state child
support enforcement agency, and on the tax consequences of such support
payments;
2) The spouses have agreed to divide jointly owned property in a fair and
just manner (including retirement pensions), to the payment of maintenance
if any, and to the tax consequences of such payments;
3) The spouses have agreed on the payment of all debts incurred by either
or both parties, and to the payment of obligations incurred jointly by them
in the future.
One individual spouse can file for the dissolution of marriage if:
1) The ground for divorce is incompatibility of temperament, the couple
has separated for a while, and this separation has irreparably broken
down the marriage;
2) The petitioning spouse has not been able to find out the other spouse’s
position regarding the dissolution of their marriage, the division of
the property and their obligations, and child custody, support and
visitation arrangements, because the whereabouts of the other spouse
is unknown to the petitioning spouse, after reasonable efforts to
locate the absent spouse;
3) The other spouse cannot be personally served with process within
the state or outside the state. Filing for dissolution of marriage does
not preclude filing for a divorce. Official state forms for dissolution of
marriage under these provisions may be obtained from the Clerk of any
superior court, or from the Division of Social Service of the Alaska
Department of Health and Social Services.
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Grounds for Alaska Divorce:
Both fault and no fault divorce grounds are valid in Alaska.
No-fault:
No-fault grounds for divorce
include an incompatibility of temperament, which results in the irreversible
breakdown of the marriage.
Fault-based:
Some fault grounds for divorce in Alaska include, among others:
1) Adultery;
2) Incurable mental disease and (or)
confinement for 18 months or more;
3) Substance abuse;
4) Marriage not consummated;
5) Conviction of a felony;
6) Abandonment for more than 1 year;
7) Cruel or inhuman treatment;
8) Habitual drunkenness;
9) Personal indignities;
10) Incompatibility of temperament.
Mediation or Counseling:
At any time within 30 days after a complaint or cross complaint is filed,
mediation may be granted at the request of either party in a contested
divorce in order to achieve a mutually agreeable settlement.
The parties may choose to submit the issues to mediation so that they
may proceed in court on an uncontested basis, provided they agree to
mediate prior to the initiation of an action, or at any time thereafter.
If no request for mediation is made by either spouse, the court may order
the spouses to submit to mediation by a court appointed mediator.
Where to file:
Superior Court for the State of Alaska.
No-Fault: Petition for dissolution of marriage;
Fault based: Complaint for Divorce.
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