That is so because many more divorce cases would go to trial, where they now settle out of court. Neither party would agree that he or she was at fault, and fault would have to be proven at trial. Also, the trials would be longer, as each side would bring in friends, neighbors and relatives to testify about the misdeeds of the other spouse. Returning fault to Divorce would make the state's money problems worse. Thirdly, returning fault to divorce would inflict even more trauma and injury on the children of divorcing parents.
Children suffer greatly when they hear anyone criticize or denigrate either of their parents.
If fault were an issue, the level of disparagement would increase dramatically, which would make the children's problems worse. The 1991 New Mexico Legislature wisely declined to pass the fault bill. However, I believe that, while we have no-fault divorce as a matter of law, we do not as a matter of reality. Virtually every couple I've seen has analyzed the break-up of their relationship on a fault basis. Moreover, until a very few years ago, lawyers were trained to do fault-based analyses exclusively.