You can file for divorce in Alaska so long as at least one party resides in Alaska. Alaska will have jurisdiction only over the marriage, but not the party unless that party appears in the action. Also if you claim Alaska as your residency and have lived here for at least 6 months within the last 6 years you can file in Alaska.

Alaska Statute § 25.24.160. (a) (4) provides:

"the court may provide ... for the division between the parties of their property, including retirement benefits, whether joint or separate, acquired only during marriage, in a just manner and without regard to which of the parties is in fault; however, the court, in making the division, may invade the property, including retirement benefits, of either spouse acquired before marriage when the balancing of the equities between the parties requires it; and to accomplish this end the judgment may require that one or both of the parties assign, deliver, or convey any of their real or personal property, including retirement benefits, to the other party; the division of property must fairly allocate the economic effect of divorce by being based on consideration of the following factors:

(A) the length of the marriage and station in life of the parties during the marriage;

(B) the age and health of the parties;

(C) the earning capacity of the parties, including their educational backgrounds, training, employment skills, work experiences, length of absence from the job market, and custodial responsibilities for children during the marriage;

(D) the financial condition of the parties, including the availability and cost of health insurance;

(E) the conduct of the parties, including whether there has been unreasonable depletion of marital assets;

(F) the desirability of awarding the family home, or the right to live in it for a reasonable period of time, to the party who has primary physical custody of children;

(G) the circumstances and necessities of each party;

(H) the time and manner of acquisition of the property in question; and

(I) the income-producing capacity of the property and the value of the property at the time of division.

The Court, in interpreting and applying AS § 25.24.160, has enumerated several factors, known as the Merrill factors. The superior court weighs the factors in reaching an equitable property division. The court considers the ages of the parties; their earning capacity; the duration of the marriage (in marriages of short duration, where there has been no significant commingling of assets between the parties, the trial court may, without abusing its discretion, treat the property division as an action in the nature of rescission; the conduct of the parties during the marriage; the parties "station in life"; the circumstances and necessities of each; their health; their financial condition; the time and manner of acquisition of the property in question; the value of the property at the time of division; and the income-producing capacity of the property. The court need not make findings on all of the Merrill factors; however, its findings must provide a sufficient basis for the conclusion reached.

Property division in Alaska consists of three steps: determining what property is available for distribution, placing a value on that property, and allocating that property equitably. In determining what property will be divided, the trial court determines what property is marital property. Trial courts have broad discretion in dividing property as part of divorce proceedings.

Pursuant to AS 25.24.160(a) (4), "property available for distribution includes all property acquired during marriage, whether title is joint or separate." "The trial court may only divide property characterized as marital." "Separate property becomes marital only upon a showing that the parties intended to treat the property as marital," and that "there is an act or acts which demonstrate that intent."

The court determines custody by applying the best interest of the child standard. The best interests factors are listed below.

Sec. 25.24.150 Judgments for custody.

(a) In an action for divorce or for legal separation or for placement of a child when one or both parents have died, the court may, if it has jurisdiction under AS 25.30.300 -- 25.30.320, and is an appropriate forum under AS 25.30.350 and 25.30.360, during the pendency of the action, or at the final hearing or at any time thereafter during the minority of a child of the marriage, make, modify, or vacate an order for the custody of or visitation with the minor child that may seem necessary or proper, including an order that provides for visitation by a grandparent or other person if that is in the best interests of the child.

(b) If a guardian ad litem for a child is appointed, the appointment shall be made under the terms of AS 25.24.310(c).

(c) The court shall determine custody in accordance with the best interests of the child under AS 25.20.060 -- 25.20.130. In determining the best interests of the child the court shall consider

(1) the physical, emotional, mental, religious, and social needs of the child;

(2) the capability and desire of each parent to meet these needs;

(3) the child's preference if the child is of sufficient age and capacity to form a preference;

(4) the love and affection existing between the child and each parent;

(5) the length of time the child has lived in a stable, satisfactory environment and the desirability of maintaining continuity;

(6) the desire and ability of each parent to allow an open and loving frequent relationship between the child and the other parent;

(7) any evidence of domestic violence, child abuse, or child neglect in the proposed custodial household or a history of violence between the parents;

(8) evidence that substance abuse by either parent or other members of the household directly affects the emotional or physical well-being of the child;

(9) other factors that the court considers pertinent.

(d) In awarding custody the court may consider only those facts that directly affect the well-being of the child.

(e) Notwithstanding the provisions of (d) of this section, in awarding custody the court shall comply with the provisions of 25 U.S.C. 1901 -- 1963 (P.L. 95-608, the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978).

(f) If the issue of child custody is before the court at the time it issues a judgment under AS 25.24.160, the court shall concurrently issue a judgment for custody under this section unless, subject to AS 25.24.155, the court delays the custody decision for a later time.

The purpose of child support is to ensure that the needs of the children are met, subject of the ability of the parent to pay.

The child support obligation is calculated as a percentage of a parent's net income: 20% for one child, 27% for two, 33% for three and 3% for each additional child. The minimum amount of child support that can be ordered is $50.00 per month. These calculations do not apply to a parent who has an adjusted annual income of over $84,000. Thus the court may only calculate child support using the $84,000 figure. Any variation must be supported by court's findings as to the child needs, standard of living, and reflective of the parent's ability to pay.

What is Income?: Total income from all sourced is included for child support purposes. It includes wages, self-employment income, investment income, disability benefits, and deferred income as well. Child support is calculated on prospective income, that is income you are going to make.

Voluntary Reduction in Income: The court can determined that you are voluntarily underemployed or unemployed and order child support based on what it determined you should be able to earn. This is imputed or potential income.

When Does my Obligation Begin?: An obligation to pay child support begins at separation, or when the child is no longer living with the obligor parent. It can be retroactively established.

Can my Support be Modified?: Child support can be modified upon a showing of a "material change of circumstances" Generally, the change must result in a change of 15% of the child support amount.

What if we Share Custody?: Shared or divided custody is calculated by determining what either party would owe in a sole custody situation, then calculating the proportional share based on the percentage each will have custody.

Alimony may be an issue on a case by case basis. It is determined by looking at the needs of one party versus the other party's ability to pay. The Merrill factors as listed above are also relevant to a spousal support analysis.

The court, however, prefers to give a spouse who needs support a greater share of the marital state instead of monthly spousal support payments. For example, if there are enough assets to award the party that needs spousal support in one lump sum payment rather than spread a payment out over several years, the court will do so. For example, the court would award the needy spouse 20% more of the property as in a 60-40 split mentioned above. There are, however, basically two types of temporary alimony: rehabilitative and reorientation. Rehabilitative is for a specific time and for a specific purpose, such as going back to school to finish your degree. Reorientation is for a specific amount of time and is designed to help you get used to your new situation.

The cost of litigation varies greatly case by case and is wholly dependent on the reasonableness of the parties. Below is a list of questions and considerations that can help you minimize your costs:

How willing are you to negotiate and mediate?

How willing are you to settle your case?

Ways to control large portions of your expenses:

1) build your personal support network;

2) do not use lawyer as a counselor; therefore, consider finding a counselor;

3) reach out to friends and others

4) keep phone calls to attorney to a minimum;

5) write down questions before calling or meeting with attorney;

6) email straight-forward questions to attorney, while being aware of confidentiality of emails and all correspondence;

7) if still living with spouse get your own email account and password;

What the Custody Investigator wishes the attorney would tell their clients

More Ways to Cut Attorney Expense:

1) Make the effort to go into attorney office and get package for completing before initiatl client/attorney meeting;

How do you you reach values of property?

1) Identify marital property ~ with few exceptions, that's everything acquired during marriage; Get the house appraised or broker's opinion of value

2) Find specific property values by going online : www.kbb.com; www.nada.com;

3) Divide marital property ~ presumption: 50/50 split.