Common Legal Grounds For Divorce

If you are seeking a divorce, you may have lots of questions about whether you should file for a no-fault divorce or a fault-based divorce. This answer quite personal and it will depend on your unique situation and your urgency for separation. Here are a few reasons that can be used to file for a fault-based divorce.

Adultery
Adultery is voluntary sexual intercourse between a married individual and another person who is not his/her spouse. In some states, spouses can still obtain a fault-based separation. In most case, this will not affect how property is divided or the decisions that will be made with regards to child custody. With infidelity, it can be proven that the unfaithful partner used marital assets to support their relationship with the other woman/man.

Habitual Drunkenness
An individual may file for divorce is their husband or wife us a habitual drunk. Alcoholism can have an effect on both child custody and division of family property during the divorce. If alcoholic addiction has impacted on the finances of the couple, for example, the addict has spent cash on excessive drinking or has not held down any job, then the judge will take all these into consideration when dividing property.

Physical cruelty
Another grounds for divorce is physical cruelty. The spouse that is seeking a divorce based on being physically molested by the other party should provide solid evidence. It is important that the affected party gets medical records, police reports, photograph evidence, and even statements from friends, family, or witnesses about physical cruelty.

Desertion
Desertion for a period of more than one year is another reason for divorce. However, you should remember that for a divorce to be granted successfully because of desertion, the spouse who deserted must establish that he/she did not agree to the desertion and the party who left had no intention of returning back home. This reason for divorce is rarely used because it needs mental intent for divorce throughout the desertion period and this can be very difficult to prove. Vanden Heuvel & Dineen offers the best legal representation for divorce cases.

Unreasonable behavior
To be granted a divorce, you must show that your spouse has behaved in a manner in which it is difficult to live with him/her. Unreasonable behavior is one of the commonly used reasons for divorce today. Examples of cases for unreasonable behavior include being threatened by your spouse with physical violence or a spouse who is physically abusive, verbally abusive, financially irresponsible, and a spouse who fails to maintain you and your children properly.

Sexual misconduct
Sexual Misconduct is an extensive term that entails any unwelcome behavior that is sexual in nature and is committed by force or without consent, coercion, manipulation, or intimidation. Such conduct will be taken into consideration particularly when determining custody of the kids during a divorce.

Mental Illness
Mental illness can also be used as a ground for divorce. This is used not to find fault will the mentally ill spouse, but to enable the court to understand that the legal divorce process may be more complex because of the condition that the spouse is suffering from.

Divorce can be quite complicated and sometimes it may be difficult to prove grounds for divorce. However, many states have introduced a law on no-fault divorce. It is best that you work with an attorney to help you come up with solid evidence and determine the best grounds that you can use for divorce. You will benefit immensely from the assistance of a legal representative.