When getting divorced, you are likely to get pieces of advice from your friends, colleagues, and even family members. Unfortunately, these people aren't authorities when it comes to divorce laws. They can fill your mind with myths, some of them very believable, such as these three:

You Can Jet Into Las Vegas for a Same-Day Divorce

One of the biggest myths today, perhaps because it is constantly perpetuated by popular media, is that you can go to Las Vegas and get divorced on the same day. Unfortunately, this isn't exactly true because out of state residents can't go to Nevada and get unhitched on the same day.

According to Nevada state laws, at least one of you must be a resident of the state for at least six weeks. Also, the divorce process itself normally takes between 60 to 90 days. Therefore, the divorce process in Nevada is fast, but not as fast as one day. 

Engagement and Wedding Rings Are Marital Properties

Another common fallacy is that wedding and divorce rings are marital properties, and will be treated as such during divorce. As a general rule, courts view these rings as gifts, and gifts once given cannot be recovered by the giver. However, there are exceptions that can see you give back your ring to the giver.

For example, in some jurisdictions, you may be ordered to give back the ring if your spouse gave it to you during the marriage. This may happen, for example, if you get married with cheap rings and your spouse bought more expensive ones during the marriage. In this case, the ring may be given as a conditional gift, with the condition that you have to stay married to the giver to keep it. Therefore, it's not a given that you will keep your rings after divorce.

You Automatically Keep Properties in Your Name

As a general rule, when you divorce, you divide the marital property while you keep your separate properties. The separate properties are the ones you had before you got married and remained in your name all throughout the marriage. Consider an example where you have a house that was fully paid up for before marriage. You may get to keep the house if it remains in your name for the duration of the marriage.

However, there are things that may, for example, it may be considered marital property if both of you or your spouse improves the value of the house during the marriage. Did you construct a swimming pool or renovate the basement into an extra living space? Such things increase the value of the house, which makes it marital property.

As you can see, some of these divorce myths make sense and seem believable on the surface. However, that doesn't make them necessarily true. Don't rely on anybody but your divorce lawyer when it comes to divorce laws. Contact a business, such as Franklin & Rapp, for more information.