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State guides

Residency, waiting periods, property regime, default custody framework, court fees — a plain-English overview for each state. State-specific procedural detail.

AK

Alaska

Residency at filing, no statutory wait for dissolution, equitable distribution, and Alaska's best-interest custody — what Alaska divorce assumes.

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AL

Alabama

Residency, the 30-day decree floor, equitable distribution, and Alabama's joint-custody preference — what Alabama divorce assumes, in plain English.

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AR

Arkansas

Residency, the 30-day floor, equitable distribution, and Arkansas's best-interest custody — what Arkansas divorce assumes, in plain English.

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AZ

Arizona

Residency, the 60-day cooling-off, community property, and Arizona's legal decision-making and parenting time — what Arizona divorce assumes.

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CA

California

Residency, the six-month waiting period, community property, and joint custody as the default — what California divorce assumes, in plain English.

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CO

Colorado

Residency, the 91-day cooling-off, equitable distribution, and Colorado's allocation of parental responsibilities — what Colorado divorce assumes.

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CT

Connecticut

Residency, the 90-day cooling-off, all-property equitable distribution, and Connecticut's best-interest custody — what Connecticut divorce assumes.

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DE

Delaware

Residency, the 6-month separation, equitable distribution, and Delaware's best-interest custody — what Delaware divorce assumes, in plain English.

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FL

Florida

Residency, the 20-day minimum, equitable distribution, and Florida's 'parental responsibility' framework — what Florida divorce assumes, in plain English.

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GA

Georgia

Residency, the 30-day decree floor, equitable division, and Georgia's best-interest custody factors — what Georgia divorce assumes, in plain English.

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HI

Hawaii

Residency, no mandatory wait, equitable distribution under the partnership model, and Hawaii's best-interest custody — what Hawaii divorce assumes.

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IA

Iowa

Residency, the 90-day cooling-off, equitable distribution, and Iowa's joint-custody preference — what Iowa divorce assumes, in plain English.

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ID

Idaho

Residency, the 21-day floor, community property, and Idaho's joint-custody preference — what Idaho divorce assumes, in plain English.

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IL

Illinois

Residency, no mandatory waiting period for no-fault, equitable distribution, and 'parental responsibilities' — what Illinois divorce assumes, in plain English.

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IN

Indiana

Residency, the 60-day cooling-off, one-pot property, and Indiana's best-interest custody factors — what Indiana divorce assumes, in plain English.

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KS

Kansas

Residency, the 60-day cooling-off, equitable distribution, and Kansas's best-interest custody framework — what Kansas divorce assumes, in plain English.

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KY

Kentucky

Residency, the 60-day cooling-off, equitable distribution, and Kentucky's joint-custody and equal-parenting-time presumption — what KY divorce assumes.

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LA

Louisiana

Residency, the 180- or 365-day separation, community property, and Louisiana's joint-custody preference — what Louisiana divorce assumes, in plain English.

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MA

Massachusetts

Residency, the nisi period, equitable distribution, and Massachusetts's all-property approach — what Massachusetts divorce assumes, in plain English.

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MD

Maryland

Residency, the 6-month separation or mutual consent path, equitable distribution, and Maryland's best-interest custody — what Maryland divorce assumes.

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ME

Maine

Residency, the 60-day wait, equitable distribution, and Maine's parental rights & responsibilities framework — what Maine divorce assumes, in plain English.

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MI

Michigan

Residency, the 60- or 180-day wait, equitable distribution, and Michigan's 12-factor best-interest test — what Michigan divorce assumes, in plain English.

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MN

Minnesota

Residency, irretrievable breakdown without a statutory wait, equitable distribution, and Minnesota's 12-factor custody test — what Minnesota divorce assumes.

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MO

Missouri

Residency, the 30-day decree floor, equitable distribution, and Missouri's best-interest custody — what Missouri divorce assumes, in plain English.

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MS

Mississippi

Residency, irreconcilable differences with a 60-day floor, equitable distribution, and Mississippi's Albright custody factors — what MS divorce assumes.

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MT

Montana

Residency, the 20-day floor + 180-day separation, equitable distribution, and Montana's parenting plan — what Montana divorce assumes, in plain English.

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NC

North Carolina

The mandatory 1-year separation, equitable distribution, best-interest custody, and the separate-but-linked claims structure — what NC divorce assumes.

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ND

North Dakota

Residency, no statutory waiting period, equitable distribution, and North Dakota's parental rights framework — what ND divorce assumes, in plain English.

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NE

Nebraska

Residency, the 60-day cooling-off, equitable distribution, and Nebraska's parenting-plan framework — what Nebraska divorce assumes, in plain English.

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NH

New Hampshire

Residency, no statutory wait, equitable distribution with an equal-division presumption, and NH's parental rights framework — what NH divorce assumes.

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NJ

New Jersey

Residency, irreconcilable differences with a 6-month period, equitable distribution, and NJ's best-interest custody factors — what NJ divorce assumes.

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NM

New Mexico

Residency, incompatibility as no-fault, community property, and New Mexico's joint-custody preference — what New Mexico divorce assumes, in plain English.

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NV

Nevada

Residency, no statutory wait, community property, and Nevada's joint-physical-custody framework — what Nevada divorce assumes, in plain English.

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NY

New York

Residency, equitable distribution, the best-interest custody standard, and why uncontested NY divorces still take months — in plain English.

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OH

Ohio

Residency, divorce vs. dissolution, equitable distribution, and Ohio's allocation of parental rights — what Ohio divorce assumes, in plain English.

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OK

Oklahoma

Residency, the 10- or 90-day wait, equitable distribution, and Oklahoma's best-interest custody — what Oklahoma divorce assumes, in plain English.

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OR

Oregon

Residency, no mandatory waiting period, equitable distribution, and Oregon's best-interest custody framework — what Oregon divorce assumes, in plain English.

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PA

Pennsylvania

Residency, the 90-day mutual-consent path, equitable distribution, and the 16-factor custody test — what Pennsylvania divorce assumes, in plain English.

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RI

Rhode Island

Residency, the nominal-then-absolute decree structure, equitable distribution, and RI's best-interest custody — what Rhode Island divorce assumes.

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SC

South Carolina

Residency, the 1-year separation for no-fault, equitable apportionment, and best-interest custody — what South Carolina divorce assumes, in plain English.

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SD

South Dakota

Residency, the 60-day cooling-off, equitable distribution, and South Dakota's best-interest custody — what South Dakota divorce assumes, in plain English.

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TN

Tennessee

Residency, the 60-or-90-day cooling-off, equitable distribution, and Tennessee's permanent parenting plan — what Tennessee divorce assumes.

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TX

Texas

Residency, the 60-day cooling-off, community property, JMC and the Standard Possession Order — what Texas divorce assumes, in plain English.

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UT

Utah

Residency, the 30-day cooling-off, equitable distribution, and Utah's joint-custody factors — what Utah divorce assumes, in plain English.

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VA

Virginia

Residency, the 6-month or 1-year separation, equitable distribution, and Virginia's 10-factor best-interest test — what Virginia divorce assumes.

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VT

Vermont

Residency, the nominal/final decree gap, all-property equitable distribution, and Vermont's parental rights framework — what Vermont divorce assumes.

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WA

Washington

Residency, the 90-day cooling-off, community property, and Washington's parenting-plan framework — what Washington divorce assumes, in plain English.

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WI

Wisconsin

Residency, the 120-day cooling-off, marital property with equal-division presumption, and Wisconsin's legal custody and placement framework.

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WV

West Virginia

Residency, irreconcilable differences, equitable distribution, and West Virginia's caretaking-function custody — what WV divorce assumes, in plain English.

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WY

Wyoming

Residency, the 20-day floor, equitable distribution, and Wyoming's best-interest custody — what Wyoming divorce assumes, in plain English.

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