Divorce in Rhode Island, start to finish
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Rhode Island hands you the forms for free. What it doesn’t explain is that there are two entirely different no-fault grounds with two different form pairs and two different waiting periods, that your first court date only becomes your actual divorce hearing if you and your spouse agree on everything, or that you’re still legally married after that hearing until a second document clears a wait the statute measures in months. That’s this.
Put in the day you filed and this page works out every deadline in your case, then hands you a calendar file that reminds you a week before each one and again the day before. It opens in the calendar you already use. Free, no account, nothing stored.
Which forms do you actually need?
Your route and its conditions, the forms grouped by route, how filing actually works in Rhode Island, and the sequence with its costs.
First, which route you are on. Each one opens to the conditions the rule actually sets.
Irreconcilable differences
R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-3.1
What this ground carries:
- The FC-45 / FC-44 form pair.
- A three-month wait before the Final Judgment can be entered.
Living separate and apart for more than three years
R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-3
What this ground requires and carries:
- The spouses have lived completely separate and apart, continuously, for more than 3 years.
- The FC-96 / FC-62 form pair.
- A much shorter 20-day wait before the Final Judgment can be entered.
Fault grounds
R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-2
What this ground carries:
- The same FC-45 / FC-44 pair and three-month wait as irreconcilable differences.
Grouped exactly as Rhode Island labels them, and nothing is added. Every one links to the official PDF.
All grounds 6 forms
- FC-56 — Complaint for Divorce or Divorce From Bed and Board — notarized
- FC-75 — Cover Sheet — required with any case-initiating filing
- FC-5 — Statement of Assets, Liabilities, Income, and Expenses (DR-6) — notarized
- FC-48 — Affidavit — for your corroborating witness statement or other supporting facts
- FC-52 — Affidavit of Non-Military Service — notarized, bring to your hearing
- LangNotice — Language Assistance Notice — served together with your summons and complaint
All grounds — minor children 2 forms
All grounds — where the fee is unaffordable 1 form
- FC-51 — Motion, Affidavit, and Order to Proceed In Forma Pauperis — attach proof of income
Irreconcilable differences and fault grounds 2 forms
You may e-file, but you do not have to
The checklist is not something you file. It is your worktable — what to do, in what order, and what it costs. The forms are what reaches the court, and this is how they get there in Rhode Island.
- Portal
- eFileRI
- Paper
- Still accepted — you can file over the counter.
- What it costs
- No portal fee published.
- Account
- Only if the self-represented litigant elects to e-file, in which case Rule 3(b) requires executing a Usage Agreement. No registration cost is published in the rule.
- With a fee waiver
- Discretionary. Article X Rule 9(b) permits a court to "waive any fees contemplated by these rules upon motion made to the respective court." The rules do not state that an approved indigency waiver automatically covers e-filing fees.
- Worth knowing
- Rhode Island's Article X carves out self-represented litigants and incarcerated individuals from a mandate that otherwise reaches "all parties." A pro se divorce filer in Family Court may use eFileRI voluntarily by signing a Usage Agreement, or file conventionally. The judiciary publishes a separate 'Fees – eFileRI' schedule document.
Each step with the forms it names and the money it costs. The full detail of every step is in the section below. Print this part.
| # | Step | Forms it names | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Confirm residency and your courthouse | None named | — |
| 2 | Assemble and notarize your complaint packet | FC-78FC-56FC-75FC-51FC-59FC-5 | $120 |
| 3 | Get your spouse served personally, in most cases | None named | $70 |
| 4 | Their answer is due 20 days after service | None named | — |
| 5 | In Providence, watch the parenting video | None named | — |
| 6 | Show up on your nominal date | None named | — |
| 7 | Prove residency and your grounds through witnesses | FC-52FC-5 | — |
| 8 | File your Decision Pending Entry of Final Judgment within 30 days of your decision | FC-96FC-45 | — |
| 9 | Wait out the statutory period | None named | — |
| 10 | File the Final Judgment | FC-44FC-62 | — |
Every figure here is this page’s own, from the costs section below. A fee waiver application is free to file and is listed with the forms above.
| Filing fee, entry of complaint (statewide, R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-29-19) | $120.00 |
| Judiciary technology surcharge (R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-15-11, capped by statute) | up to $25.00 |
| Sheriff or constable service of process, per person (statutory cap, § 9-29-9) | up to $70.00 |
| Notary or remote online notarization, per document (several documents need one) | $0–$25 |
| Typical all-in, doing it yourselves | $120–$240 |
The short version8 points · tap one to jump to it
- The grounds, the two tracks, and what each requires — The grounds and the track are independent of each other, and both change what happens.
- Every form Rhode Island publishes for a divorce — The Route column says which ground a form belongs to; the nominal-or-contested track doesn’t change the form list.
- Getting the forms and filling them in — Every Rhode Island Family Court form is free, most are fillable on screen, and self-represented filing is normal here — the clerk's office is built to expect it, even though clerks can't give you legal advice.
- Your deadlines, calculated — Rhode Island's post-hearing clock is unusual: your hearing date isn't your divorce date.
- The order it actually happens in
- The rejection-proofing checklist — Under an irreconcilable differences ground, R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-3.1(b) makes evidence of specific misconduct improper and inadmissible, except in narrow circumstances.
- The DR-6 Financial Statement — what it requires — It's marked confidential and runs nine pages: income, expenses, assets, and liabilities, all itemized.
- What this costs — Rhode Island has no county government, and the Family Court's filing fee is set once, statewide, by R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-29-19 — it's the same whether you file in Newport, Kent, Washington, or Providence/Bristol.
In this subject 8
1 · The grounds, the two tracks, and what each requires
The short version8 points · tap one to jump to it
- The grounds, the two tracks, and what each requires — The grounds and the track are independent of each other, and both change what happens.
- Every form Rhode Island publishes for a divorce — The Route column says which ground a form belongs to; the nominal-or-contested track doesn’t change the form list.
- Getting the forms and filling them in — Every Rhode Island Family Court form is free, most are fillable on screen, and self-represented filing is normal here — the clerk's office is built to expect it, even though clerks can't give you legal advice.
- Your deadlines, calculated — Rhode Island's post-hearing clock is unusual: your hearing date isn't your divorce date.
- The order it actually happens in
- The rejection-proofing checklist — Under an irreconcilable differences ground, R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-3.1(b) makes evidence of specific misconduct improper and inadmissible, except in narrow circumstances.
- The DR-6 Financial Statement — what it requires — It's marked confidential and runs nine pages: income, expenses, assets, and liabilities, all itemized.
- What this costs — Rhode Island has no county government, and the Family Court's filing fee is set once, statewide, by R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-29-19 — it's the same whether you file in Newport, Kent, Washington, or Providence/Bristol.
In this subject 8
Rhode Island has a fork almost nobody explains up front: two separate no-fault grounds — irreconcilable differences and living separate and apart for more than three years — each with its own pair of court forms and its own waiting period, on top of a second fork between the court’s “nominal” track (uncontested) and the contested track. The grounds and the track are independent of each other, and both change what happens.
Residency. R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-12 requires one spouse to have been a domiciled inhabitant of Rhode Island, residing here continuously, for at least one year before filing — unless the defendant meets that same one-year test and is actually served, in which case the plaintiff’s own residency requirement is considered satisfied.
Irreconcilable differences
R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-3.1
No fault, and no minimum separation period required. Evidence of specific misconduct is generally inadmissible under this ground.
What this ground carries:
- The FC-45 / FC-44 form pair.
- A three-month wait before the Final Judgment can be entered.
Living separate and apart for more than three years
R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-3
A second, distinct no-fault ground. It doesn’t require the other spouse’s cooperation, since separation is a fact that can be proved with a corroborating witness even if they default.
What this ground requires and carries:
- The spouses have lived completely separate and apart, continuously, for more than 3 years.
- The FC-96 / FC-62 form pair.
- A much shorter 20-day wait before the Final Judgment can be entered.
Fault grounds
R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-2
Adultery, extreme cruelty, willful desertion, habitual drunkenness or drug use, neglect to provide, or other gross misbehavior. This requires proving specific acts, which is the opposite burden of a no-fault filing, and realistically pairs with a contested case.
What this ground carries:
- The same FC-45 / FC-44 pair and three-month wait as irreconcilable differences.
The second fork: nominal or contested. Where both spouses agree on every single term — property, support, custody — by the first court date, the case aims for the nominal (uncontested) track, and can be heard that day. Where the other spouse will answer and engage but the terms aren’t fully agreed, Rhode Island still sets the nominal date first; if the case still isn’t fully agreed when it arrives, the judge converts it to the contested track — a case management conference, then a pretrial conference, then trial if it’s still unresolved. A case can settle and drop back to a nominal hearing at any point. A genuinely contested case runs that full track from the start: slower, but still entirely doable without a lawyer if you’re organized about it.
Cost. Filing and service run to roughly $200. Where that isn’t affordable, FC-51 is the In Forma Pauperis motion, and it needs proof of income attached.
2 · Every form Rhode Island publishes for a divorce
The complete list, not a shortlist — because which forms are needed depends on facts only you and, if you need one, your lawyer can weigh. Every form here is free from the Rhode Island Judiciary, with the revision date printed in each form’s footer, the same one the clerk checks. The Route column says which ground a form belongs to; the nominal-or-contested track doesn’t change the form list.
The Cusp is not a law firm and cannot tell you which forms are right for your case. Everything here is general information about how Rhode Island handles divorce, and every form below is published free by Rhode Island itself — you do not have to buy anything from anyone to get them. If your situation is not straightforward, a consultation with a Rhode Island family lawyer costs far less than fixing a filing that went wrong.
| Form | What it is | Route | Rev. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FC-56 | Complaint for Divorce or Divorce From Bed and Board — notarized | All grounds | 07/23 | Download |
| FC-75 | Cover Sheet — required with any case-initiating filing | All grounds | 04/23 | Download |
| FC-5 | Statement of Assets, Liabilities, Income, and Expenses (DR-6) — notarized | All grounds | 09/23 | Download |
| FC-48 | Affidavit — for your corroborating witness statement or other supporting facts | All grounds | 07/23 | Download |
| FC-52 | Affidavit of Non-Military Service — notarized, bring to your hearing | All grounds | 07/23 | Download |
| LangNotice | Language Assistance Notice — served together with your summons and complaint | All grounds | — | Download |
| FC-45 | Decision Pending Entry of Final Judgment | Irreconcilable differences and fault grounds | 03/25 | Download |
| FC-44 | Final Judgment | Irreconcilable differences and fault grounds | 03/25 | Download |
| FC-96 | Decision Pending Entry of Final Judgment — Living Separate and Apart | Living separate and apart — § 15-5-3 | 03/25 | Download |
| FC-62 | Final Judgment — Living Separate and Apart | Living separate and apart — § 15-5-3 | 03/25 | Download |
| FC-59 | Statement Listing Children — file two copies | All grounds — minor children | 07/23 | Download |
| FC-78 | Family Child Support Guideline Worksheet — required even when support is agreed | All grounds — minor children | 07/23 | Download |
| FC-51 | Motion, Affidavit, and Order to Proceed In Forma Pauperis — attach proof of income | All grounds — where the fee is unaffordable | 05/26 | Download |
Every one of these is free. Download fresh each time — clerks check the revision line, and saved copies go stale. The summons itself is generated by the clerk when you file, not something you fill out yourself. Full catalog: courts.ri.gov/Pages/forms.aspx.
3 · Getting the forms and filling them in
Nobody explains this part, so here it is. Every Rhode Island Family Court form is free, most are fillable on screen, and self-represented filing is normal here — the clerk’s office is built to expect it, even though clerks can’t give you legal advice.
You may e-file, but you do not have to Your choice
- Portal
- eFileRI
- Paper
- Still accepted — you can file over the counter.
- What it costs
- No portal fee published.
- Account
- Only if the self-represented litigant elects to e-file, in which case Rule 3(b) requires executing a Usage Agreement. No registration cost is published in the rule.
- With a fee waiver
- Discretionary. Article X Rule 9(b) permits a court to "waive any fees contemplated by these rules upon motion made to the respective court." The rules do not state that an approved indigency waiver automatically covers e-filing fees.
- Worth knowing
- Rhode Island's Article X carves out self-represented litigants and incarcerated individuals from a mandate that otherwise reaches "all parties." A pro se divorce filer in Family Court may use eFileRI voluntarily by signing a Usage Agreement, or file conventionally. The judiciary publishes a separate 'Fees – eFileRI' schedule document.
Step one — download them free
All Rhode Island Judiciary forms live here, at no cost:
Don’t reuse a saved copy or one a friend sent you. These forms get revised on their own schedules — the fee-waiver form was revised as recently as May 2026, the Decision Pending and Final Judgment forms in March 2025 — and the revision line (e.g. “FC-56 (revised July 2023)”) is printed in the footer of every page. Clerks check it.
Step two — fill them in on screen
Rhode Island’s Family Court forms are genuine fillable PDFs (AcroForm fields) — open them in Adobe Acrobat Reader, Preview, or any modern browser, type directly into the fields, then print and sign. Use the exact same legal name on every document.
Step three — notarize almost everything, including the complaint itself
This is the part that catches people coming from another state’s process. In most states the petition itself is just signed. In Rhode Island, the Complaint for Divorce (FC-56) has its own notary block — you sign it in front of a notary, not at your kitchen table the night before. So do the Affidavit (FC-48), the Affidavit of Non-Military Service (FC-52), and the DR-6 Financial Statement (FC-5).
Rhode Island’s Uniform Law on Notarial Acts (R.I. Gen. Laws § 42-30.1-12.1) permits remote online notarization for these documents — you appear by video, show government-issued ID, and the notary applies their electronic seal. National RON services and many Rhode Island banks and credit unions offer this, typically for $0–$25 per document.
People treat FC-56 like an ordinary pleading, sign it at home, and mail it in — and it comes back. The complaint itself needs a notary’s jurat, filled in by the notary, not by you. And because there are two entirely different Decision Pending / Final Judgment form pairs — FC-45/FC-44 for irreconcilable differences or fault, FC-96/FC-62 for living separate and apart — filing the wrong pair for your stated grounds is the second most common way this stalls out.
Step four — file at the right courthouse, and understand the “nominal date”
Rhode Island abolished county government in 1846, but the Family Court still organizes where you file by county, per R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-13: you file where you, the plaintiff, live — unless your case is based on the defendant’s residence, in which case it goes to Providence County or wherever the defendant lives.
| Courthouse | County | Address |
|---|---|---|
| Murray Judicial Complex | Newport | 45 Washington Square, Newport, RI 02840 · (401) 841-8340 |
| Noel Judicial Complex | Kent | 222 Quaker Lane, Warwick, RI 02886 · (401) 822-6725 |
| McGrath Judicial Complex | Washington | 4800 Tower Hill Road, Wakefield, RI 02879 · (401) 782-4111 |
| Garrahy Judicial Complex | Providence/Bristol | One Dorrance Plaza, Providence, RI 02903 · (401) 458-3200 |
Filing at the clerk’s office gets your case a docket number and a first court date — the “nominal date.” There’s also a self-guided electronic tool, Guide and File, for the two post-hearing forms described in Section 5.
The divorce is only heard as an actual divorce on that first date if you and your spouse agree on every term, or your spouse defaults. If you show up still disagreeing on something, the judge moves the case to the contested track — a case management conference, then a pretrial conference, then trial if it still isn’t resolved — and you can settle and drop back to a nominal hearing at any point along the way.
4 · Your deadlines, calculated
Rhode Island’s post-hearing clock is unusual: your hearing date isn’t your divorce date. Put in your dates below and pick your ground, and we’ll turn the statute into actual dates on your calendar — then add them to Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, or Outlook in one click.
5 · The order it actually happens in
6 · The rejection-proofing checklist
These are the specific things that get Rhode Island filings bounced or stalled — every one of them costs weeks.
Signing and notarizing
Under an irreconcilable differences ground, R.I. Gen. Laws § 15-5-3.1(b) makes evidence of specific misconduct improper and inadmissible, except in narrow circumstances. Choose a fault ground instead — adultery, extreme cruelty, desertion — and you’ve taken on the opposite burden: you now must prove specific acts. Most people don’t need a fault ground at all; use one only for a specific reason (insurance, immigration, or a religious requirement), and expect it to run on the contested track.
Forms people forget
Timing
Filing the wrong form pair for your grounds. FC-45/FC-44 and FC-96/FC-62 aren’t interchangeable — one assumes a three-month wait, the other a twenty-day wait, and submitting the wrong pair creates a mismatch the clerk has to send back. Missing the 180-day window. Once your waiting period expires, you have 180 days to file the Final Judgment the simple way. Miss it, and R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 15-5-23(a) and 15-5-3(d) both require it be entered only in open court, by motion or written consent — an extra step you can avoid entirely by just not letting the paperwork sit.
7 · The DR-6 Financial Statement — what it requires
FC-5, filed by the plaintiff with the complaint and by the defendant with their answer. It’s marked confidential and runs nine pages: income, expenses, assets, and liabilities, all itemized.
The form specifically asks you to attach a completed Schedule C from your latest tax return for self-employment income, and a completed Schedule A (built into page 9 of the form) for rental income. Leaving these off is a common reason a DR-6 gets flagged as incomplete.
8 · What this costs
Rhode Island has no county government, and the Family Court’s filing fee is set once, statewide, by R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-29-19 — it’s the same whether you file in Newport, Kent, Washington, or Providence/Bristol. The only thing that changes by location is which courthouse handles your case.
| Item | Cost |
|---|---|
| Filing fee, entry of complaint (statewide, R.I. Gen. Laws § 9-29-19) | $120.00 |
| Judiciary technology surcharge (R.I. Gen. Laws § 8-15-11, capped by statute) | up to $25.00 |
| Sheriff or constable service of process, per person (statutory cap, § 9-29-9) | up to $70.00 |
| Notary or remote online notarization, per document (several documents need one) | $0–$25 |
| Typical all-in, doing it yourselves | $120–$240 |
File FC-51, the Motion, Affidavit, and Order to Proceed In Forma Pauperis, with documentation of your income attached — a check stub, an award letter, or similar proof, per Family Court Administrative Order 2012-04. It can waive the filing fee, service of process fees, and transcript costs together.
What members report paying for a lawyer
This part isn’t from any court record — it’s illustrative, member-reported data from Cusp users who hired an attorney in Rhode Island, shown so you have a rough sense of the alternative. Treat it as a demo range, not a quote.
| Scenario | Member-reported range |
|---|---|
| Flat fee, fully uncontested / nominal track | $750–$1,800 |
| Retainer, cooperative but not fully agreed | $2,500–$5,000 |
| Retainer, contested with children or real property | $5,000–$15,000+ |
Does cheating change the money in Rhode Island?
It can. Marital conduct is a factor the court is allowed to weigh. The rule: “the conduct of the parties during the marriage” (§ 15-5-16(b)(1)(ii)). How all fifty states answer this.
Reconciled, and it did not work? We read Rhode Island’s code and found no forgiveness provision in it, which is not the same as the doctrine being dead there: condonation, state by state. If the decision itself is what you are sitting with rather than the law, start here.
What this is. A guide to Rhode Island’s own process, built from the Rhode Island General Laws (Title 15, chapter 15-5 — including §§ 15-5-2, 15-5-3, 15-5-3.1, 15-5-12, 15-5-13, and 15-5-23; and Title 9, chapter 9-29, §§ 9-29-9 and 9-29-19), the Family Court Rules of Domestic Relations Procedure, and the official FC-series forms and self-help materials published by the Rhode Island Judiciary at courts.ri.gov and by Rhode Island Legal Services at helprilaw.org. The forms themselves are free and this guide links you to them rather than reselling them.
What this is not. The Cusp is not a law firm and does not practice law. Nothing here is legal advice, and nothing here tells you which choice is right for your particular situation — only what Rhode Island requires of each path. If your case involves a contested custody dispute, a business, hidden assets, domestic violence, or a spouse with a lawyer, talk to an attorney. Court clerks are not permitted to give legal advice, even about which form to use. The member-reported attorney costs above are illustrative demo figures from Cusp users, not a quote, an average, or an official statistic.
Confirm current numbers with the clerk. Filing fees, the technology surcharge, and service fees are periodically adjusted by the legislature or the Judiciary. Where this guide could not verify an exact figure, form, or local practice with confidence — including the “Providence parenting video” step, and the precise dollar amount of the technology surcharge — it says so, or points you to the clerk’s office rather than guessing.
Four things can happen to the house in a Rhode Island divorce
Rhode Island is one of the twenty. The moment a petition is filed, an automatic order takes effect on both of you, barring either from selling or encumbering property. Nobody is served with it separately and nobody explains it. Breaking it is contempt.
One of you buys the other out, you sell later, you sell now, or the court decides. For a great many people the right answer is not to sell at all – and three of the four routes earn us nothing.
The four routes, compared · Keeping it: the buyout and the carrying cost · Selling: capital gains, basis and timing · Finding an agent who has done a divorce sale · What two households cost
Need a vetted attorney, mediator, or financial analyst in Rhode Island?
Browse The Cusp’s professional directory — rated only by verified clients, never ranked by who paid the most.
Browse the directory →The Cusp · All 50 state kits · Find a professional · About
Ask for an introduction to an agent → — who we would introduce you to, what the referral fee is and who pays it, and why the answer is sometimes that you should not sell at all.
Everything we have written about Rhode Island specifically. Every figure on these pages is quoted from Rhode Island’s own statute or its courts’ own published schedule, and carries the date we last checked it.
- Modifying child support and alimony after divorce
- Modifying custody and parenting time after divorce
- What it costs to file
- Child custody
- Child support
- Guardians ad litem and child representation
- Travel, custody and relocation
- Alimony
- Property, support and legal fees
- Protective orders
- Changing your name back
- Legal help you can afford
- Verified professionals
The most expensive mistakes in a divorce are made in the year after it, by people who thought the case was over. After the divorce is the checklist for that year — the health-coverage clock, the retirement order a decree cannot replace, and the beneficiary form that outranks your will.
Filing is one household becoming two, and the second one starts empty. The two-household list is what to send the people who keep asking how they can help — the second of everything, and the half of it that costs nothing. Some people call it a divorce registry.
All 13 Rhode Island divorce forms, listed by the number the clerk will ask for — 13 with an official form number, 13 linked straight to the state’s own file, each with its revision date where the state publishes one. Open the Rhode Island form list →
Common questions about filing for divorce in Rhode Island
Short answers to what people ask most before they start. Each one points at the part of this page that covers it in full.
How do I file for divorce in Rhode Island?
This page sets out the order it happens in for Rhode Island: which form opens the case, what has to be served on the other person and when, and what the court needs before it will finish. It is written to be followed in sequence rather than read through.
What forms do I need to file for divorce in Rhode Island?
The form list on this page gives the official Rhode Island form numbers, each one’s revision date, and a link to the copy on the court’s own site rather than a copy hosted here. Using a superseded revision is one of the most common reasons a filing comes back, which is why the dates are shown.
How much does it cost to file for divorce in Rhode Island?
$120 to open the case, and that is only the filing fee — it does not cover service, copies, any required class, or a lawyer. The full breakdown for Rhode Island, with every figure traced to the court’s own published schedule and dated, is at what it costs to file in Rhode Island.
What gets a Rhode Island divorce filing rejected?
This page has a section on exactly that — the specific mistakes that get a filing returned in Rhode Island rather than a general list. Most of them are procedural and cost weeks rather than money: the wrong form revision, a missing signature or notarization, service done in a way the state does not accept, or filing before a residency requirement is met.
How long does a divorce take in Rhode Island?
There is a timeline on this page built from Rhode Island’s own statutory day-counts, not from averages. The honest short answer is that the waiting period is a floor and not a prediction: an uncontested case can finish close to it, and a contested one is governed by the court’s calendar rather than the statute.
Where does the information on this page come from?
Rhode Island’s own courts and statutes. Every form links to the court’s site, every fee is quoted from the published schedule with the date it was last checked, and where something could not be confirmed from an official source this site says so instead of estimating. It is free, with no account and no paywall.
Does cheating change the money in Rhode Island?
It can. Marital conduct is a factor Rhode Island allows the court to weigh, which is not the same as a rule that decides the outcome — it sits alongside need, earning capacity and the length of the marriage, and how much weight it gets is the judge’s. Eighteen states are in this position. The fifty-state table sets out the section this comes from, and the card higher up this page quotes your state’s own words.
Choosing an agent for a divorce sale is a different problem from choosing one for an ordinary sale: who the agent is allowed to talk to, who has to sign, what happens when one of you will not, and the three separate conflicts of interest that come up when one spouse found the agent first. How to choose a real estate agent for a divorce sale sets out what to ask, and how to check a credential yourself — no divorce credential is official with the National Association of Realtors.
The Cusp receives a referral fee from agents it vets and trains to handle divorce clients.
Key deadlines at a glance
These are the same deadlines the calculator above works out, shown as days counted from the day you file or the day your spouse is served. Use the calculator for your exact dates.
Which ground are you filing under? Irreconcilable differences / fault
| Step | When | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Complaint filed | The day you file | The docket number and your first court date — the nominal date — get assigned from here. |
Which ground are you filing under? Living separate and apart 3+ years
| Step | When | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Complaint filed | The day you file | The docket number and your first court date — the nominal date — get assigned from here. |
Your county
Divorce rules are set by the state, but each county or court has its own forms, deadlines, classes and filing habits. Choose yours.
Or go straight to your county or court:
Kent CountyNewport County (call to confirm)Providence/Bristol CountyWashington County (call to confirm)Kent County
Rhode Island Family Court uses statewide forms; this clerk office is at Noel Judicial Complex, 222 Quaker Lane, Warwick, RI 02886, (401) 822-6725. New custody, parenting time and placement cases filed here are automatically referred to mediation; divorce cases are referred only if requested at hearing. The official pages read do not say which county a filer must use, and county-specific standing orders were not found.
Who to contact: Noel Judicial Complex, 222 Quaker Lane, Warwick, RI 02886; (401) 822-6725
Local rules · Local forms · Court website
Where this comes from
- https://www.courts.ri.gov/Courts/familycourt/Pages/Guide%20and%20File.aspx
- https://www.courts.ri.gov/Courts/familycourt/Pages/mediation-program-faqs.aspx
- https://www.courts.ri.gov/Courts/FamilyCourt/Pages/default.aspx
- https://www.courts.ri.gov/Forms/Complaint%20for%20Divorce%20or%20Divorce%20From%20Bed%20and%20Board.pdf
Last checked 2026-11-10. Tell us if this is out of date
Newport County Call or check the court website to confirm
Rhode Island Family Court uses statewide forms; this clerk office is at Murray Judicial Complex, 45 Washington Square, Newport, RI 02840, (401) 841-8340. The mediation page does not describe automatic referral for this county. The official pages read do not say which county a filer must use, and county-specific standing orders were not found.
Who to contact: Murray Judicial Complex, 45 Washington Square, Newport, RI 02840; (401) 841-8340
Local rules · Local forms · Court website
Where this comes from
- https://www.courts.ri.gov/Courts/familycourt/Pages/Guide%20and%20File.aspx
- https://www.courts.ri.gov/Courts/familycourt/Pages/mediation-program-faqs.aspx
- https://www.courts.ri.gov/Courts/FamilyCourt/Pages/default.aspx
- https://www.courts.ri.gov/Forms/Complaint%20for%20Divorce%20or%20Divorce%20From%20Bed%20and%20Board.pdf
Last checked 2026-11-10. Tell us if this is out of date
Providence/Bristol County
Rhode Island Family Court uses statewide forms; this clerk office is at Garrahy Judicial Complex, One Dorrance Plaza, Providence, RI 02903, (401) 458-3200. New custody, parenting time and placement cases filed here are automatically referred to mediation; divorce cases are referred only if requested at hearing. The official pages read do not say which county a filer must use, and county-specific standing orders were not found.
Who to contact: Garrahy Judicial Complex, One Dorrance Plaza, Providence, RI 02903; (401) 458-3200
Local rules · Local forms · Court website
Where this comes from
- https://www.courts.ri.gov/Courts/familycourt/Pages/Guide%20and%20File.aspx
- https://www.courts.ri.gov/Courts/familycourt/Pages/mediation-program-faqs.aspx
- https://www.courts.ri.gov/Courts/FamilyCourt/Pages/default.aspx
- https://www.courts.ri.gov/Forms/Complaint%20for%20Divorce%20or%20Divorce%20From%20Bed%20and%20Board.pdf
Last checked 2026-11-10. Tell us if this is out of date
Washington County Call or check the court website to confirm
Rhode Island Family Court uses statewide forms; this clerk office is at McGrath Judicial Complex, 4800 Tower Hill Road, Wakefield, RI 02879, (401) 782-4111. The mediation page does not describe automatic referral for this county. The official pages read do not say which county a filer must use, and county-specific standing orders were not found.
Who to contact: McGrath Judicial Complex, 4800 Tower Hill Road, Wakefield, RI 02879; (401) 782-4111
Local rules · Local forms · Court website
Where this comes from
- https://www.courts.ri.gov/Courts/familycourt/Pages/Guide%20and%20File.aspx
- https://www.courts.ri.gov/Courts/familycourt/Pages/mediation-program-faqs.aspx
- https://www.courts.ri.gov/Courts/FamilyCourt/Pages/default.aspx
- https://www.courts.ri.gov/Forms/Complaint%20for%20Divorce%20or%20Divorce%20From%20Bed%20and%20Board.pdf
Last checked 2026-11-10. Tell us if this is out of date
Not listed? Your county clerk of court can tell you the local rules. These are general information from court and clerk pages, last checked 2026-11-10, not legal advice.
Serving the papers in Rhode Island? An authorized officer or someone the court appoints; whether you can serve is unclear. No deadline in Rule 4. (As we read the rules on 29 October 2026.) See who can serve a divorce summons and whether you can do it yourself, and find Rhode Island in our state-by-state serving table.
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How we can help
Understand the house first. Then talk to someone who gets it.
The house is usually the largest decision in a divorce, and the one people are least ready for. Here is what we do, in the order that makes sense.
1. Start with the facts, free
22 states have automatic orders that freeze both spouses the moment a divorce is filed, barring either one from selling or borrowing against the property. Is yours one of them?
Plain-English guides on what can happen to the house, what an automatic order stops you doing, and how the tax rules decide what a sale is worth. No account and nothing to buy.
- The four things that can happen to the house
- Selling the house: who signs, and the tax rules
- Keeping the house: the buyout and the carrying cost
2. Know when not to call an agent
Often the right answer is to wait, or to talk to your lawyer or an accountant first. We say so plainly. An agent is the wrong first call if nothing is filed, or if an order restricts what either of you can do with the property.
3. Talk to someone who gets it
When you do need an agent, we introduce you to a local agent who has completed our divorce real estate training and passed its 20-question exam. Before any introduction we check the license with the state regulator (any unresolved disciplinary action is a no), the agent’s closed sales, and a review rating of 4.7 or better. The introduction is free, and you are free to say no.
Ask for an introductionHow we are paid
You pay us nothing. Agents are not charged for the training, the exam or the free resources. If an introduction leads to a closed sale, the agent’s brokerage pays a referral fee out of its own commission, not out of your proceeds. A place on the panel cannot be bought.
General information, not legal or tax advice. The Cusp is not a law firm.
Selling a home in a divorce: what to ask a local listing agent
Selling the house is often the largest single decision in a divorce. These questions help you judge whether an agent has done it before. They do not replace your lawyer, who should approve the plan before anything is listed.
- Have you sold homes where both spouses had to sign, or where a court had to approve the sale? How many, and how recently?
- Does filing already restrain a sale in my state? Check the 50-state table and ask my lawyer before we sign anything.
- Who decides on price changes and which offers to accept when we disagree, and how will that be written down?
- Who pays the mortgage, taxes and insurance until closing, and what does the listing agreement say about it?
- Where will the sale proceeds be held until the decree says who gets what?
- How will you handle showings, access and lockboxes if we are not speaking?
- Will you give both spouses and both lawyers the same information at the same time?
- What happens to the listing agreement if we settle, reconcile or the case is delayed? What are the cancellation terms?
- Can I have your fee terms in writing and the names of past clients who sold during a divorce?