Kansas Laws on Legal Marital Separation and Debts

Kansas allows residents to get a legal separation. Unlike divorces, legal separations do not dissolve a marriage, though the separation order includes terms that are otherwise identical to a divorce and can order spouses to pay for marital debts or other property obligations. Talk to a Kansas divorce lawyer if you need legal advice about legal separation in the state.

Separate Maintenance

Kansas refers to legal separations as "separate maintenance." Kansas Statutes Annotated section 60-1601 states that a court can grant separate maintenance as long as the couple meets the legal grounds for a divorce, meaning the filing party must claim the couple is incompatible or that the other spouse failed to perform a marital duty. Unlike divorce, there is no specified residency requirements for a separate maintenance action, meaning you can file even if you've only lived in the state for a day.

Property Distributions

Kansas courts divide marital property, including all debts as well as assets, on an "equitable division" basis. This means the court can divide property as it believes it to be fair. The court can divide all property that either party owns at the time of filing for divorce no matter when the spouses acquired it or in whose name the property is titled. The court will use numerous factors to determine how to divide all property and debts, and the couple must abide by whatever the court orders.

Agreements

In any action for separate maintenance, the couple has the right to agree to terms between themselves without resorting to having the court determine the terms for them. A settlement agreement allows a couple to determine how to divide any debts on their own terms. While the court can disregard any settlement agreement it believes is clearly inequitable or that goes against state law, it generally accepts property settlements. Once accepted, the agreement is made part of the separate maintenance order and is enforceable as an order of the court.

Prenuptial Agreements

Kansas allows couples to enter into prenuptial agreements, known as premarital agreements in the state, prior to getting married. Once the couple gets married, the agreement becomes effective, and any terms the couple agreed to about separating property on divorce or separation will determine how property is settled. If the couple, for example, determined that one spouse would become responsible for all debts and the other spouse would pay a percentage of the debt amount in settlement, the court will adopt this and make it part of the property settlement.

References

• Kansas Legislature: Kansas Statutes Annotated Chapter 60, Article 16: Divorce and Maintenance
• Nelson and Booth Attorneys at Law: Domestic Relations Law in Kansas: A Guide
• DivorceSource: Kansas: State Divorce Laws
• Kansas Legislature: Kansas Statutes Annotated Chapter 23, Article 8: Uniform Premarital Agreement Act