Law Office of Hoang Huy Tu

Marital status refers to the lawful recognition of the agreement between a man and a woman to be husband and wife. Along with the legal marital status of being married, the husband and wife acquire rights and obligations to their respective spouses. The rights and obligations begin when the couple is

married and may continue, to a certain extent, even after the termination of the marriage.

Marital status is one of the basic issues involved in a lawsuit for divorce (marital dissolution) or an annulment (nullity). At the end of a marital dissolution or nullity proceeding, the legal status of husband and wife is terminated and the spouses are returned to the legal status of being unmarried or single persons.

Marital status is automatically terminated upon the death of one spouse; the survivor becomes an unmarried person once again.

A divorce, sometimes called a decree of "dissolution of marriage", is a court order terminating a marriage. It no longer exists. Unlike an annulment, which states that the marriage never existed, a divorce is the termination of a valid marriage.

Typically in the divorce the parties and/or court resolve all issues between them, such as division of property, child custody and visitation, and spousal and child support.

Domestic violence is abuse between family members or related persons. Domestic violence may come in many forms: actual physical abuse, threats of physical abuse, emotional abuse, threatening telephone calls, disturbances at a place of employment, stalking, and other forms of dominance and control. Domestic violence is distinguished from other kinds of abuse because of the special relationship between the persons. Domestic violence cases may be treated differently than cases of civil harassment because of the interpersonal relationships involved. At least one of the following relationship tests typically must be met in order to qualify a matter as a domestic violence case:

the parties are married now or were formerly married to one another

the parties are related by blood, marriage or adoption

the parties are currently or were formerly living together

the parties have now or used to have a dating or engagement relationship

the parties have a minor child in common

In some states, there does not have to be actual physical violence between the parties; emotional abuse or fear of physical harm is sufficient to qualify as domestic violence.