Grounds for divorce (United States)
[8] A no fault divorce can be granted on grounds such as irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, irreconcilable differences, incompatibility, or after a period of separation, depending on the state.
[7] Several grounds for fault divorce include adultery, cruelty, abandonment, mental illness, and criminal conviction.
[9] These defenses include insufficiency of evidence that the spouse in fact engaged in the conduct cited (or, more strongly, the presence of affirmative evidence to the contrary), acceptance of the alleged conduct at the time when it was engaged in ("condonation"), the complaining party's having engaged in similar conduct of his/her own ("recrimination"), and absence of or insufficiency of evidence proving other conditions invoked as grounds (e.g., insufficient length of separation or presence of a chance of reconciliation).
[10] Many of the grounds for divorce available in the United States today are rooted in the policies instated by early British rule.
[11] Following the American Colonies' independence, each settlement generally determined its own acceptable grounds for divorce.
[13] In the 18th century, such concerns as infidelity, alcohol abuse, mistreatment, abandonment, and impotence were among the few reasons that could qualify as grounds for divorce.
[10] Prior to this, people used such issues as incompatibility or a decline in lucidity as grounds; the court eventually came to see these problems as not severe enough to warrant divorce, however.
The other states still requiring mutual consent for no-fault divorce are Tennessee (except where there are no minor children and the couple have lived apart for two years), Mississippi,[14] and South Dakota.
[16] In order to obtain a no-fault divorce in only Tennessee, Mississippi, and South Dakota, the parties must mutually consent to provide information regarding incompatibility or why the marriage partners have changed, grown apart, or have irreconcilable differences.
[32] For example, when the party is going through a fault divorce trial the husband/wife might be convicted of being an unfit parent, which will require evidence so the spouse can be found guilty of abuse.
[8] For example, in Texas, grounds for an "at-fault" divorce include cruelty, adultery, a felony conviction, abandonment, living apart, and commitment in a mental institution.
[8] Proof of the accused party's wrongdoing may result in the court granting the filing spouse a larger portion of the marital property or increased support and alimony.
[8] The most common fault grounds include the following: Sexual activities with a person differing from your spouse constitute adultery.
[34] Circumstantial as well as documented evidence, including videotapes of the spouse committing the sexual infidelity, can be used as proof of adultery.
[35] Proof of cruelty or the repeated infliction of serious physical or mental suffering by one marital partner on the other is also grounds for divorce.
[34] Acts such as physical attacks, repeated displays of rage involving screaming and violent behavior, as well as continuous false accusations, such as adultery and publicly berating and insulting a spouse or flaunting an affair with another person are some grounds of cruelty.
[34] Leaving the household with the consent of the filing spouse or for reasons consistent with the ongoing existence of a positive relationship, such as completing military service or employment assignments as required by law or to help provide for the family, do not constitute abandonment or desertion.
[9] To obtain a divorce on grounds of abandonment the accused spouse must have voluntarily deserted the marital household with no justification or intention to return.
[9] Other grounds for divorce may include alcohol or substance abuse and impotency, infertility or homosexuality (for heterosexual married couples) of the other party that was not discussed before the union.
Strictly speaking, some jurisdictions may interpret the failure to disclose such conditions in advance as actual or constructive fraud that renders the marriage void, or at least voidable unless and until accepted by the other party once that other party learns of the condition and, thus, serves as grounds for an annulment rather than for dissolution of a theretofore-valid marriage.
[38] One partner might find himself unable to handle the societal pressures of the arrangement, or may feel compelled to conform to the spouse's/other culture's ideals (e.g. child rearing, dietary changes, etc.
[42] A common reason cited as grounds for divorce is one spouse's unwillingness to support the other financially even though he or she has the economic means to do so.
[9] Part of the concept of marriage is its role of joining people; when two individuals marry, the sharing of resources is often one of many expected outcomes.
[9] To serve as valid grounds, the partner's inability to perform intercourse must have been present at the entire marriage; i.e. if the couple has consummated the relationship, they cannot use impotency as a justification for divorce.
[48] Under the no-fault grounds of separation for a pre-determined duration, the half of the couple who does not desire a divorce has only one recourse in contesting the break-up.
[9] If the span of the spouses’ separation does not last at least as long as was originally decided, then the dissenting person has a suitable defense to challenge the divorce.
[9] In the event of a couple's short-lived reunion or further sexual relations, the court can argue that the pair did not adhere to the time requirements of their separation agreement, and the divorce petition can be invalidated.
