What are the grounds for divorce?
From Separation & Divorce A: You or your spouse may want to divorce, but before you can obtain one you must satisfy these legal requirements: In England and Wales You can only divorce if you have been married for at least one year. There are rules on jurisdiction which govern whether or not the courts of England and Wales can grant you or your spouse a divorce. If you have both lived in England or Wales for the year prior to the divorce, then there should be no difficulty. If this is not the case, then you may well still be entitled to a divorce in the courts of England and Wales but it may be wise to consult a solicitor on this point. In Scotland You or your spouse must have resided in Scotland for the year preceding the divorce, or consider Scotland your principal place of residence. In England, Wales and Scotland, there is only one basic ground for divorce – the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage. Irretrievable breakdown is proven by establishing one or more of the following ‘f
In New York, there are six grounds for divorce. Of the six grounds, four of them are based on the “fault” of one of the parties. They are: a) cruel and inhuman treatment; b) abandonment for one or more years; c) imprisonment for three or more years; and d) adultery. Living apart for one year under a separation judgment granted by a Court or under a separation agreement signed by the parties are the two grounds that are not fault based. In New Jersey, there are several “fault” grounds and one “no fault” ground. With regard to the fault grounds, there are nine, which are adultery, desertion, extreme cruelty, separation, drug addiction, habitual drunkenness, institutionalization, imprisonment and deviant sexual conduct. There is also the no fault ground, which is living separate and apart for eighteen months.
Fault grounds for divorce in Illinois include impotency, bigamy, adultery, desertion for one year, habitual drunkenness or drug addiction for two years, an attempt to take the life of the other, physical or mental cruelty, conviction of a felony or other infamous crime, infecting the other with a sexually transmitted disease. No fault divorce is available if the parties have lived separate and apart for two years, or for six months by agreement, and irreconcilable differences cause the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.
