Seeking professional counsel on how to apply for divorce in Alaska?
Alaska accepts no-fault divorces in which one party claims that “incompatibility of temperament has caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage.” This is known as “irreconcilable differences,” which means that the two sides no longer get along.
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Requirements for Residency
To apply for divorce in Alaska, one or both partners must presently live there, claim Alaska citizenship, and plan to remain there forever. If either partner is a member of the military stationed in Alaska, he or she must have been stationed in Alaska for at least 30 days and lived there for at least 30 days. If there are minors engaged in the divorce, the judge must have authority over their affairs by either:
the children have resided in Alaska for at least six (6) months; or the children presently reside in Alaska or have lived in Alaska within six (6) months of the divorce being submitted
There are slightly varying directions and criteria for applying for divorce in Anchorage and Fairbanks. The material below should still serve as a basic guidance for forms required, but your municipality may not require all forms or may require extra forms.
Complete your Forms
When filing for divorce, you must submit certain papers to the Court. Most of the following documents are accessible through the Alaska State Court website.
All individuals applying for no-fault divorce in Alaska must finish and submit the following forms:
Petition for Divorce (with or without Children) / Petition for Divorce (with or without Children) Certificate of Divorce Information Sheet
Couples with children should also fill out the accompanying forms:
CSSD Services Shared Custody Child Support Calculation Application
Make duplicates of your forms.
Make at least two duplicates of each document after you have completed it. One pair will be submitted with the Court Clerk’s Office, while the other should be retained for your documents.
Bring your completed forms to your local court clerk’s office and pay the filing fee.
Bring the originals and duplicates of your papers to the Court Clerk’s Office. If everything is in order, the assistant will use the original papers and charge a filing fee. As the divorce process progresses through the system, additional papers will be needed. You must maintain contact with the County Clerk to ensure that no dates are overlooked.
