A divorce is where one spouse brings a lawsuit against the other spouse, saying in a divorce complaint how the plaintiff spouse wants the marriage to end; if the other spouse disagrees, he or she can file an answer saying what he or she wants to happen, and the court will make a final decision. 

A dissolution is where the spouses agree on how their marriage should end and they both sign off on papers containing their agreement.

 You can get a divorce if the other spouse lives in another state if you are an Alaska resident by filing a divorce case here.  If there are children, and the children have been with the other spouse in the other spouse’s state for the past 6 months, it would be better to file the divorce case in the other spouse’s state because only the other spouse’s state would have authority to make custody decisions about the children. 

If the other spouse can’t be located despite your diligent efforts, you can get permission from the court to publish notice of the divorce case in a newspaper.

You can get a divorce even though your spouse won’t sign dissolution papers if you file a divorce case and the spouse is served with the divorce papers, either via process server, certified mail with restricted delivery, or publication if the spouse can’t be located. 

Most divorces are filed on the grounds of “incompatibility of temperament,” and even if the other spouse does not want to get divorced, there is an “incompatibility of temperament” justifying a divorce if one spouse wants a divorce and the other doesn’t.

To get a modification of a divorce or custody order, you can file modification forms, showing that there’s been a substantial change of circumstances since the original order and that a new custody arrangement would be in the children’s best interests.  A custody and child support modification packet is available at the court clerk’s office.  You can also find modification forms on the Family Law Self Help Center's website. 

If a lawyer represents you, the lawyer will probably use his or her own paperwork.

An annulment is a very hard thing to get, because under the Alaska Marriage Code a marriage is only voidable if one or both people don’t have capacity to consent to it, if a spouse consents only because of force or fraud, or if the marriage isn’t consummated. 

The standards for annulling a marriage in the eyes of a particular church, such as the Catholic Church, may be easier, but they are still complicated. 

Most people who agree that they’ve made a mistake about getting married end their marriages by filing dissolution forms.