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A simple uncontested divorce is a divorce that a Rhode Island divorce lawyer can typically complete for a relatively inexpensive flat fee. In a RI uncontested divorce, the attorney and the parties must still attend court for a brief hearing.

The hallmark of a flat fee uncontested divorce is a divorce with: (1) no assets, no real estate, no children and no joint debt or (2) the parties have minimal assets and entanglements and have agreed to everything and no property settlement agreement is needed.

The lawyer must complete an intake process in which the lawyer gets the basic information so that the divorce papers can be filed. The attorney uses the information obtained from the intake to draft the documents. You need to provide the lawyer with your pay stub from work and your marriage certificate.

The next step is to sign the documents in front of the lawyer or another notary. The following documents are required: Complaint, DR(6) financial statement, statement of children, counseling statement, marriage certificate, report of divorce, summons and automatic divorce order.

The financial statement must be accurately and truthfully completed. After the documents have been signed and notarized, the case must be filed. A Court date of approximately 65-70 days will be set by the clerk upon filing. The Defendant must then be served by a RI constable! If the Defendant lives out of state he or she can be served by certified mail.

On the date of the nominal hearing, at the call of the calendar, the case will be called “ready nominal”. A hearing is required under RI law Pursuant to Rhode Island General Law. A divorce cannot be resolved without a nominal hearing.

At the nominal hearing certain testimony must be elicited in order for the divorce to be granted. In some circumstances, it is necessary to have witnesses to briefly testify to prove residency. If you don’t have the required witnesses your case could be delayed or even dismissed and you may waste your time attending court.

In order to obtain a divorce, you need to have been a domiciled inhabitant and resident of Rhode Island for one year prior to your filing. There are exceptions to the residency requirements for people in the armed forces who are stationed abroad or in other states.

A filing can also be based on a persons husband’s/ wife’s residency for one year prior to the filing. It does not matter if you change your residency or move out of town the next day. It only matters that you were a resident on the date of the filing and for one year before!

In order to prove residency, it is enough, if both parties appear at the nominal court date and testify that at least one of the parties was a domiciled inhabitant and resident of Rhode Island for one year prior to the filing of the complaint for divorce.

The Court will usually waive the requirement for an additional witness if both spouses attend the court date and testify that one party had the requisite residency.

If only one party attends the nominal court date then you need to do the following in order to obtain a divorce (a) bring two additional witnesses to testify to the one year residency of the Plaintiff or the Defendant or (b) one witness in court to testify to the one year residency of the Plaintiff and an affidavit from a different witness concerning the person’s residency.

If you do not meet these requirements to prove residency your case may be dismissed. You also may be given additional time to obtain the necessary witnesses or affidavit

After the nominal Court date a Decision Pending Entry of Final Judgment must be submitted to the Court and signed by the Judge.

The Final Judgment can not be submitted or entered until 90 days after the nominal Court date.

Without a final judgment signed by the judge and entered as an order of the Court, the divorce will not be final.

Rhode Island legal Notice per RI Rules of Professional Responsibility:

The Rhode Island Supreme Court licenses all attorneys in the general practice of law, but does not license or certify any lawyer as an expert or specialist in any field of practice.

By: David Slepkow

Across the country, programs are being established to help persons who need legal assistance obtain the services of a legal aid lawyer at no cost. There are definite criteria that one has to meet in order to obtain legal services without the obligation to pay. Here are some of the general conditions one has to meet in order to obtain the help of an attorney who offers free legal aid.

One of the first things you have to do is locate programs that provide this sort of legal aid. There are several ways you can check for available programs in your area. Online, you can check the web site of the local chapter of the state’s legal or attorney association. Often, there will be a section on legal aid there, including a list of attorneys who participate in the programs operating in different parts of the state. Locating your city and seeing which programs or attorneys offer free legal aid will provide you with a list of people to contact.

Second, you may also check for lists of attorneys that provide free legal aid at your local courthouse. These lists are usually available at no charge, so you can pick one up and begin to make some phone calls or drop by the offices listed. Usually someone at the office can provide you with basic of the qualifications you have to meet and also give you an application for the program.

Often, as part of qualifying for the services of a legal aid lawyer, you will need to be able to demonstrate your need. This will mean supplying details about how much you make, perhaps by turning in a recent pay stub. If you have outstanding debts, be able to document the current state of those accounts. Also be able to provide what you have to pay in the way of rent or house payments, estimates on food and utilities, and any other regular expenditures that have to be paid out of your net pay. The point is to make sure that persons who genuinely need the help are processed quickly and receive the support they need, and persons who are in fact able to pay but just don’t want to do so will not get into the programs.

As part of the process for obtaining the help of a legal aid lawyer, you will need to fill out an application form, which will accompany the documentation that is required by the program. From there, you will be interviewed, often at least twice. The first interview usually occurs around the time you submit your application, and the second will be after the information you have submitted has been verified. At that point, you will usually learn if you have been accepted into the program or not.

By: James Woodley