Top 3 Best States To Get Divorced in 2020

When you first got married it’s unlikely you saw this day coming. This day being the one where I assume you’ve been all over the internet searching for information on how to make your divorce as painless as possible only to end up here where we’re going to give a quick run down on the top 3 best states to get divorced in.

The main qualities we looked at to decide on which three states are the best ones to be in if you’re getting a divorce are:

a) The hard costs associated with a divorce such as the initial filing fee.

b) That they follow equitable distribution law, which means your personal property is not by default considered to be co-owned by your spouse as it is with the alternative (known as community property law).

c) Policies on alimony and child custody that respect each persons rights.

From these three main qualities we have our top 3 best states to get divorced in. Now, each State has a different residency requirement (the amount of time at least one spouse must have officially been a resident of that state in order to be able to file for divorce in that State), this usually amounts to between six months and one full year.

This residency requirement can make it difficult for someone who lives outside of these states to get the benefits of the more equitable divorce policies. Sometimes a temporary separation can give one party to a marriage the chance to establish residency somewhere else and then file for divorce there, of course depending on your work situation this may not be an option. If work isn’t an issue then check with your attorney to see if they feel moving to a new location is a good option for you. Alaska, New Hampshire, South Dakota, and Washington are unique in that they only require you to be a resident at the time of filing for divorce.

Also keep in mind that you’re not the only one with the ability to use google to find out the best state for them to get divorced in (if your soon-to-be-ex recently took up residency in California I’d suggest filing now before they do)

Georgia

Known for having reasonable child-support regulations, ones which are based around the actual cost of a child’s upbringing. Instead of the usual act of vengeance against the spouse that is losing custody of their own children. Georgia also has the distinction of being one of the few states that completely bars Alimony from a cheating spouse. If your spouse has committed infidelity, Georgia has your back.

The residency requirement for Georgia in order to be able to file for divorce is 6 months, consecutive.

Tip: North Carolina has this same policy regarding infidelity, barring the cheating spouse from collecting alimony

Texas

Alimony is somewhat less common in Texas than it is in other parts of the country, the calculation is based on what the spouse whom is looking to receive support’s ‘minimum reasonable needs’ are.

This concept stands in stark contrast to the absurd ‘what they were accustomed to’ belief system prevalent in other States (they were accustomed to being married… they aren’t married anymore). Still, legislation is always changing and over the years’ alimony has grown more common in Texas than it once was, if still significantly less common than in the rest of the country. But if we had been putting together this article together fifteen years ago in 2003-2005, Texas would have been seen as a much stronger haven against alimony than it stands today.

The residency requirement for Texas is also 6 months.

New Hampshire

In terms of Alimony, courts rarely ever appoint ‘permanent’ alimony (something quite common in California and New York) but if you’ve been in a long-term marriage (ten years or greater) and are the primary earner you will most likely be made to pay some form of restitution for a period of years.

This ruling will be based on your specific circumstances and is statistically going to be a much lower percentage of your income than it would be in Colorado, New York, etc. One of the other benefits of New Hampshire is that in order to qualify as residents you need only be living there for one day. You can move to New Hampshire and the very next day file for divorce there.

Tip: If you’re in the midst of a mutual divorce and your only concern is saving a couple bucks on the filing fee, consider Wyoming, to file for divorce there is only $70.

Going through a divorce is never easy and its unlikely you’ll ever be completely happy with the outcome but if you’re able to establish residency in one of these three states and then file for divorce there you’ll have a leg up on getting the best outcome possible for your divorce. Check out some of our more detailed divorce strategy guides to see other ideas on how to best handle your divorce and get the best outcome possible.