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Annulment and the "Relation Back" Doctrine

By its legal definition, the "relation back doctrine" enables a plaintiff to correct a pleading error, by adding either a new claim or a new party, after the expiration of the statutory limitation period. In some cases, spouses who are parties to subsequent marriages have attempted to assert the "relation back" doctrine to persuade courts to reinstate/reinforce alimony or maintenance payments from their previous marriage(s).

Vacatur of Divorce Judgments

"Vacatur" is an order of a court which sets aside or annuls a proceeding. When a judgment of divorce is vacated, the marital rights and status of the parties are restored, and the parties are placed in the position in which they were before the divorce.

Property Division in Divorce: Equitable Distribution

As the name implies, "equitable distribution" seeks to give the divorce court some discretion to distribute property equitably in divorce. Many common-law states and some community property states use equitable distribution for dividing marital assets and debts between divorcing spouses. Many equitable distribution states also apply the scheme to divisible property, and some so-called "all property" states may apply it to all of the spouses' property.

Alimony: Rehabilitative Spousal Support

Alimony awards, also called "spousal support," are usually granted at the court's discretion upon a determination, which takes into account certain factors, that spousal maintenance is necessary. Some of the factors considered when determining alimony payments include the education of the spouses, their respective work experiences, income histories, ages, health, the length of the marriage, and the time either spouse has spent out of the work force. Alimony may be either temporary (often called "rehabilitative alimony") or permanent. The court grants rehabilitative spousal support when one spouse has been disadvantaged in order to equalize the burden of the divorce.

Use of Collaborative Law in Divorce

Collaborative law is a method of family law dispute resolution in which divorcing spouses settle their differences out of court. The trend towards collaborative law developed from a desire to avoid lengthy legal and court proceedings while still reaching a compromise mutually acceptable to all parties. Parties to divorce, their attorneys, and any other professional involved agree to make a good faith attempt to reach an amicable settlement without going to court; collaborative practice is intended to minimize difference while working toward that resolution.