The court does not take divorce lightly, as it has a serious and long-lasting impact on the couple. This is why when you ask the court to grant you a divorce, you must present your reasons for it. This is true whether it is a fault or no-fault divorce.
In a “no fault” divorce, the spouse filing for divorce does not need to prove any wrongdoing on behalf of either party in the divorce. A state might simply have the couple declare they cannot get along, while other states might require a couple to live apart for a period of time before filing for a no-fault divorce.
A “fault” divorce is when the filing party presents a specific reason for how their spouse caused their marriage to fail. Fault divorce may be an advantage because it does not require a mandatory period of separation, which is sometimes required for a no-fault divorce. Also, some states are more likely to grant a larger share of marital property to the party that is not at fault. Traditional grounds for a fault divorce are often:
- Cruelty
- Desertion for a specified period of time
- Adultery
- Fraud
- Confinement in prison for a number of years
- Inability to consummate the marriage
In California, and several other states, there is only no-fault divorce. In California there are only two grounds for a divorce:
- Irreconcilable differences. These grounds refer to the irreconcilable differences which have caused the irremediable break down of the marriage. Irreconcilable differences refers to the grounds which are determined by the court to be substantial reasons for ending the marriage, and which call for the dissolution of the marriage.
- Incurable insanity. A marriage can be dissolved of the grounds of incurable insanity, which needs to be proven. These grounds will be valid only when a competent medical or psychiatric testimony is presented, which proves that the spouse was insane at the time the petition was filed, and remains incurably insane.
The default grounds for divorce in California is irreconcilable differences, which do not need to be proven. Incurable insanity as grounds for a divorce is a rarely used option, but it is still available.
In addition to fault and no-fault, there two other ways to classify a divorce, which may also depend on whether the divorce was fault or no-fault.
- Contested divorce. A contested divorce is a type of divorce where neither spouse can reach an agreement. This is the more complicated type of divorce, because it requires each spouse to go to hearings, settlement negotiations, and possibly a trial for an agreement is reached.
- Uncontested divorce. An uncontested divorce is much more simple. It occurs when the spouses work together to reach a resolution, and do not have the go to court to make an agreement.
For more information on whether or not your and your spouse meet the requirements to dissolve your marriage, consult with an experienced family law attorney.
