Traditionally, the only way to obtain a divorce was to establish that the other party to the marriage had committed some marital fault and that the person seeking the divorce was innocent of such fault. The modern view of fault divorce looks at comparative fault. Where both parties were at fault, a divorce may be granted to the less guilty party or to the parties jointly. Various fault grounds continue to exist in some states. The most common fault grounds are adultery, desertion, and physical or mental cruelty.
Individual states offer additional grounds including, for example, impotence and imprisonment.
In order to be eligible for a divorce, each state has a residence or domicile requirement that must be met before a divorce action can be filed. The most common provision is that one of the spouses must have resided in the state for one year where the divorce action is filed, but this rule varies. States are entitled to charge a filing fee for obtaining a divorce, but must make provision for waiver of that fee for indigents who are seeking a remedy. The Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory is the most complete, trusted source for identifying qualified legal counsel. Your access to and use of this website is subject to additional terms and conditions .