Not only is California a no-fault state, but it was the first state (in 1970) to utilize the concept of no-fault divorce. In short, this meant that rather than one spouse having to convince the judge that the other spouse had committed a terrible offense, thus providing an “acceptable” reason (known as “grounds”) for the divorce, no reason was required. Once no-fault divorce in California was implemented, other states followed. Today you can file for a no-fault divorce in every state (although some states do still allow divorces based on specific grounds). When you file for divorce, you must only state your marriage is irretrievably broken due to irreconcilable differences.