An uncontested divorce in Arkansas is one where you and your spouse agree on every major issue — property, debts, custody, child support, and alimony — before the case is filed. To qualify, at least one spouse must have lived in Arkansas for 60 days before filing, and the judge cannot sign the final decree until three full months of residency have passed and a 30-day waiting period from filing has elapsed.1Justia Law. Arkansas Code 9-12-307 – Matters That Must Be Proved Because the terms are already settled, the process is faster and cheaper than a contested case.
Who Qualifies
Two clocks run in every Arkansas divorce. The first is a 60-day residency requirement before you can file. The second is a three-month residency requirement before the court can grant the decree.1Justia Law. Arkansas Code 9-12-307 – Matters That Must Be Proved You can file at day 60, but the judge will not finalize anything until day 90.
You also need a legal ground for divorce. In uncontested cases, most couples use the no-fault ground, which requires 18 continuous months of living separate and apart without cohabitation. Moving back in together, even for a short stretch, resets that clock. Fault-based grounds like adultery, felony conviction, habitual drunkenness for one year, cruel treatment, or conduct making the marriage intolerable are also available and do not require the 18-month wait, but both spouses still have to agree on all terms for the case to stay uncontested.2Justia Law. Arkansas Code 9-12-301 – Grounds for Divorce
What You and Your Spouse Need to Agree On
Most Arkansas courts expect a written marital settlement agreement filed alongside the complaint. That document is the heart of the case. A thorough agreement addresses:
- Physical and legal custody of any minor children, plus a visitation schedule that covers holidays and vacations
- Child support, in an amount consistent with the state guidelines
- Spousal support, if any, including amount, duration, and start date
- The family home and any other real estate
- Vehicles, personal property, bank accounts, and investment accounts
- Retirement accounts and pensions
- Joint debts, listed by creditor and balance, with each spouse’s responsibility spelled out
- Health insurance, life insurance, and tax filing arrangements
Both spouses sign, and notarization is typically required. If you leave gaps, the judge may push the case back or turn it into a contested matter.
Filing the Complaint and Serving Your Spouse
The filing spouse submits a Complaint for Divorce to the circuit court in the county where either spouse lives. The complaint identifies both parties, states the grounds, and outlines the agreed terms. Filing fees vary by county but usually run around $165. If you cannot afford the fee, you can request a waiver under Rule 72 of the Arkansas Rules of Civil Procedure; the court will look at your income and assets to decide.
Even in an uncontested case, Arkansas requires formal service of process. You can serve your spouse through a sheriff or appointed process server, by certified mail with restricted delivery and a return receipt, or through a commercial delivery company. The responding spouse then has 30 days to file a written Answer accepting the complaint’s terms. This step is largely a formality when both sides agree, but skipping it can create problems later, so get it on file.
Dividing Property and Debts
Arkansas starts from a 50/50 split of marital property. A judge can adjust that if an equal split would be unfair, weighing factors like the length of the marriage, each spouse’s income and earning capacity, contributions to acquiring or preserving property (including homemaking), and federal tax consequences.3Justia Law. Arkansas Code 9-12-315 – Division of Property – Definition In an uncontested case, you negotiate the split yourselves, and the court reviews it for reasonableness.
Some property stays with the spouse who owns it and does not get divided:
- Anything either spouse owned before the marriage
- Gifts and inheritances received by one spouse, whether through a will, trust, or beneficiary designation
- Life insurance proceeds, deferred compensation payments, and individual retirement accounts traceable to non-marital funds
These categories are excluded from the marital pot by statute.3Justia Law. Arkansas Code 9-12-315 – Division of Property – Definition Problems arise when separate property gets mixed with marital assets — an inheritance deposited into a joint account, for example. An honest inventory of both marital and non-marital property is the single most important preparation step.
Joint debts are divided the same way. Your agreement should list each debt by creditor, account number, and balance, and name the spouse responsible for it. Remember that your agreement binds you and your spouse but not your creditors. If your spouse is assigned a joint credit card and stops paying, the creditor can still come after you. Refinancing joint debts into individual accounts before the decree is one way to close that exposure.
Splitting Retirement Accounts
Dividing a 401(k), pension, or state retirement benefit requires a separate order called a Qualified Domestic Relations Order, or QDRO. The QDRO tells the plan administrator how to split the account. Each plan has its own rules; the Arkansas Teacher Retirement System, for example, requires its own model QDRO form and asks that a draft be submitted for legal review before the judge signs it.4Arkansas Teacher Retirement System. Divorce / QDRO FAQ No funds move until the plan accepts the QDRO and the member applies for a distribution. If retirement accounts are part of the settlement, handle the QDRO during the divorce, not after.
Children
Arkansas law presumes that joint custody is in the child’s best interest. That presumption is rebuttable, but overcoming it takes clear and convincing evidence.5Justia Law. Arkansas Code 9-13-101 – Award of Custody – Definition For an uncontested case, you and your spouse write a parenting plan that covers physical custody, visitation, and how major decisions about education, health care, and religion get made.
Child support follows an income-shares model. Both parents’ gross incomes are combined, a base support obligation is pulled from a chart based on that combined income and the number of children, and each parent’s share is set by their percentage of the total. Health insurance premiums, extraordinary medical expenses, and work-related child care are added on top. The Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts publishes a free calculator that generates the official Child Support Worksheet.6State of Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts. Child Support Calculator v2.0 You and your spouse can agree to a different number, but any deviation from the guideline amount has to be approved by the judge.
When minor children are involved, the court can require both parents to complete at least two hours of classes on parenting issues faced by divorced parents, and it can order mediation on custody and visitation.7Justia Law. Arkansas Code 9-12-322 – Divorcing Parents to Attend Parenting Class Each parent pays their own cost. Not every judge orders the class, but plan for it.
Alimony
Arkansas courts can award temporary support during the case, rehabilitative support to help a spouse become self-sufficient, or permanent support in longer marriages where financial independence is unlikely. Courts weigh each spouse’s income and earning capacity, the standard of living during the marriage, the length of the marriage, age and health, the property awarded, and any child support obligations.
In an uncontested case, you decide these terms yourselves. Your settlement agreement should state the monthly amount, payment frequency, start date, and duration. Alimony generally ends if the receiving spouse remarries or begins living full-time with a new partner, or if either spouse dies. Either party can later ask the court to modify alimony by showing a significant change in circumstances.
Timeline to the Final Decree
Arkansas imposes a 30-day waiting period between the filing of the complaint and the earliest date a judge can sign the decree, and that waiting period cannot be waived. There is one exception: if you and your spouse had already been living apart for 12 continuous months before filing, the 30 days do not apply.8Justia Law. Arkansas Code 9-12-310 – Waiting Period Before Rendition of Decree Because the three-month residency requirement still applies either way, that longer clock usually controls.
Arkansas also requires corroboration of your residency, and, if you are relying on the 18-month separation ground, of the separation itself. Someone other than you or your spouse must confirm these facts, either through live testimony or a verified written affidavit.9Justia Law. Arkansas Code 9-12-306 – Corroboration A friend, neighbor, coworker, or relative who can attest to where you have been living usually fills the role. Line the witness up early.
Many Arkansas judges allow uncontested divorces to be completed without an in-person hearing, using sworn written statements sometimes called a divorce by affidavit or divorce by deposition. Whether your county permits this depends on the judge. If a hearing is required, it is usually brief, often under 15 minutes: the filing spouse confirms the complaint, the corroborating witness verifies residency and separation, and the judge reviews the settlement agreement before signing. Once the decree is signed, the divorce is final.
Restoring a Former Name
If you took your spouse’s last name and want your old name back, ask for the change in your complaint or settlement agreement. Arkansas law allows the court to restore a former name as part of the divorce judgment.10Justia Law. Arkansas Code 9-12-318 – Restoration of Name Handling it inside the decree avoids a separate name-change petition later. The signed decree is what you use to update your Social Security card, driver’s license, and other identification.