Your state
There are fifty-one versions of the marriage contract, one per state plus the District of Columbia, and they disagree on basics, such as whether an inheritance is safe. The book describes the contract most Americans have. These pages say what your state does differently. Click a state.
Community property Equitable distribution
Each state page gives the state’s Luck of the Draw score, shown beside its name below: how much of the money at a divorce the state leaves to the judge, from 0 to 100, with the statute behind each part.
Every state page now has its score, how to get a license and who can marry you, whether common-law marriage exists there, what counts as marital property, what happens to an inheritance in a joint account, whether you owe your spouse’s medical bills, what a surviving spouse is guaranteed, what makes a prenup or postnup hold up, child support and moving away with a child, and how long a divorce takes, each with the statute or case behind it. Where a court or statute speaks to it, a page also says what happens to property or a prenup from another state. No lawyer reviews these pages.
- Alabama 90
- Alaska 50
- Arizona 35
- Arkansas 80
- California 40
- Colorado 70
- Connecticut 100
- Delaware 70
- District of Columbia 95
- Florida 55
- Georgia 85
- Hawaii 70
- Idaho 65
- Illinois 35
- Indiana 55
- Iowa 80
- Kansas 80
- Kentucky 85
- Louisiana 40
- Maine 60
- Maryland 90
- Massachusetts 75
- Michigan 95
- Minnesota 50
- Mississippi 95
- Missouri 85
- Montana 70
- Nebraska 75
- Nevada 55
- New Hampshire 65
- New Jersey 75
- New Mexico 50
- New York 60
- North Carolina 55
- North Dakota 80
- Ohio 75
- Oklahoma 85
- Oregon 60
- Pennsylvania 85
- Rhode Island 95
- South Carolina 95
- South Dakota 80
- Tennessee 85
- Texas 65
- Utah 70
- Vermont 80
- Virginia 95
- Washington 70
- West Virginia 75
- Wisconsin 55
- Wyoming 90
The states side by side
The fastest column is the legal minimum, in days from arrival, for a spouse who moves to the state alone and files as soon as allowed, with no minor children and the other spouse objecting. It is a floor and not a prediction. Each state’s page gives the rule and its source, and explains the exceptions.
| State | Time in the state before filing | Fastest final decree, one spouse alone | One spouse can get a no-fault divorce over an objection | Child support model | New common-law marriages |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Six months | 210 days | Yes | Income shares | Closed |
| Alaska | No minimum | 30 days | Yes | Percentage of income | No |
| Arizona | 90 days | 150 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
| Arkansas | 60 days | 575 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
| California | Six months | 360 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
| Colorado | 91 days | 182 days | Yes | Income shares | Yes |
| Connecticut | No minimum | 365 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
| Delaware | Six months | 180 days | Yes | Melson | No |
| District of Columbia | Six months | 210 days | Yes | Income shares | Yes |
| Florida | Six months | 200 days | Yes | Income shares | Closed |
| Georgia | Six months | 210 days | Yes | Income shares | Closed |
| Hawaii | No minimum | 20 days | Yes | Melson | No |
| Idaho | Six weeks | 63 days | Yes | Income shares | Closed |
| Illinois | 90 days | 90 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
| Indiana | Six months | 240 days | Yes | Income shares | Closed |
| Iowa | One year | 455 days | Yes | Income shares | Yes |
| Kansas | 60 days | 120 days | Yes | Income shares | Yes |
| Kentucky | Six months | 180 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
| Louisiana | No minimum | 180 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
| Maine | Six months | 240 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
| Maryland | Six months | 180 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
| Massachusetts | One year | 635 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
| Michigan | One year | 425 days | Yes | Income shares | Closed |
| Minnesota | Six months | 180 days | Yes | Income shares | Closed |
| Mississippi | Six months | 180 days (fault must be proved) | No | Percentage of income | Closed |
| Missouri | 90 days | 760 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
| Montana | 90 days | 111 days | Yes | Melson | Yes |
| Nebraska | One year | 455 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
| Nevada | Six weeks | 42 days | Yes | Percentage of income | Closed |
| New Hampshire | One year | 396 days | Yes | Income shares | At death only |
| New Jersey | One year | 365 days | Yes | Income shares | Closed |
| New Mexico | Six months | 180 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
| New York | Two years | 730 days | Yes | Income shares | Closed |
| North Carolina | Six months | 365 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
| North Dakota | No minimum | 180 days | Yes | Percentage of income | No |
| Ohio | Six months | 407 days | Yes | Income shares | Closed |
| Oklahoma | Six months | 180 days | Yes | Income shares | Yes |
| Oregon | Six months | 180 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
| Pennsylvania | Six months | 405 days | Yes | Income shares | Closed |
| Rhode Island | One year | 515 days | Yes | Income shares | Yes |
| South Carolina | One year | 365 days | Yes | Income shares | Closed |
| South Dakota | No minimum | 60 days (fault must be proved) | No | Income shares | Closed |
| Tennessee | Six months | 790 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
| Texas | Six months | 240 days | Yes | Percentage of income | Yes |
| Utah | 90 days | 120 days | Yes | Income shares | Yes |
| Vermont | Six months | 455 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
| Virginia | Six months | 365 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
| Washington | No minimum | 90 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
| West Virginia | One year | 365 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
| Wisconsin | Six months | 300 days | Yes | Percentage of income | No |
| Wyoming | 60 days | 80 days | Yes | Income shares | No |
Which state’s contract applies to you is decided by where you live when the marriage ends, not where the wedding was. See Article 2 of the default contract.CorrectionsAbout the book