Kansas Ground Rules

The district court shall grant a decree of divorce or separate maintenance for any of the following grounds, under Kansas divorce law:

1. incompatibility;
2. failure to perform a material marital duty or obligation;
3. incompatibility by reason of mental illness or mental incapacity of one or both spouses, as determined under Kansas divorce law. The ground of incompatibility by reason of mental illness or mental incapacity of one or both spouses shall require a finding of either:
   (a) Confinement of the spouse in an institution by reason of mental illness for a period of two years, which confinement need not be continuous; or
   (b) an adjudication of mental illness or mental incapacity of the spouse by a court of competent jurisdiction while the spouse is confined in an institution by reason of mental illness. In either case, Kansas divorce law says there must be a finding by at least two of three physicians, appointed by the court before which the action is pending, that the mentally ill or mentally incapacitated spouse has a poor prognosis for recovery from the mental illness or mental incapacity, based upon general knowledge available at the time. A decree granted on the ground of incompatibility by reason of mental illness or mental incapacity of one or both spouses shall not relieve a party from contributing to the support and maintenance of the mentally ill or mentally incapacitated spouse, according to Kansas divorce law. If both spouses are confined to institutions because of mental illness or mental incapacity, the guardian of either spouse may file a petition for divorce and the court may grant the divorce on the ground of incompatibility by reason of mental illness or mental incapacity.

Annulment

In Kansas divorce law, the court declares the marriage contract broken; in an annulment, the court says that there never was a marriage. Annulment is much more difficult to prove — and is much rarer — than divorce. If you want to go this route, you will definitely need to speak to a divorce attorney. Of course, if you want an annulment for religious reasons, you’ll need to consult with your priest, minister, or rabbi as well.

In Kansas divorce law, the district court shall grant a decree of annulment of any marriage for either of the following grounds:

1. The marriage is void for any reason; or
2. the contract of marriage is voidable because it was induced by fraud.

The district court may grant a decree of annulment of any marriage under Kansas divorce law if the contract of marriage was induced by mistake of fact, lack of knowledge of a material fact, or any other reason justifying the rescission of a contract of marriage.

Documentation

You’ll need to provide your divorce lawyer with the following documentation, in order to proceed with your dissolution as per Kansas divorce law. Start gathering everything together as soon as possible so that you can find out what might be missing and submit any requests for duplicates.

Personal Data

• Full addresses and phone numbers of both parties.
• Full names, birth dates, and addresses of all children of the marriage, their school and grade.
• Information about any prior marriage of either spouse, including a certified copy of the divorce decree.
• A copy of any domestic contracts (e.g. a prenuptial agreement).
• Information about any previous legal proceedings between the spouses or involving any of the children.
• Dates and particulars about any previous separations, attempts at reconciliation, or marriage counseling.

Financial Data

• Your previous year’s income tax return, and any related data from the IRS.
• Information about your current income, e.g. a current pay slip.
• A list of substantial assets and liabilities of both spouses.