The 5 Most Commonly Used Divorce Laws
For almost as many reasons as there are for severing a marital relationship there are types of divorces and divorce laws. Each comes with pros and cons, but each shares a common goal: to dissolve a legal union. Annulments Annulments yield the same results and follow similar divorce laws and proceedings as divorces, but annulments are unique creatures: once awarded by the courts, annulments not only dissolve marriages, but make them altogether disappear…as if they never occurred in the first place. Unlike divorces, however, annulments typically take place after a short term of marriage—though some long-term marriages have been annulled. And though the reasons—or grounds—for annulment are different and differently accepted depending upon which state the marrieds reside in, grounds for annulment can be a response to a spouse misrepresenting him- or herself or committing fraud, by, for example, lying about identity, abilities, health, or marital status; a spouse who conceals criminal or other unacceptable histories or conditions; a spouse refusing to consummate the marriage; and/or simple misunderstandings between the two before they were married. Separations There are four types, or subtypes, of separations in the divorce law categories. Some married couples having conflict, disagreement, or differences will opt for what is called a trial separation—wherein the couple will test the conditions of living apart before they decide to divorce or re-unite and make it work. Other couples will experiment with separate living—some even staying together in the same dwelling but living in separate wings. More permanent are, well, permanent separations, where the married people finalize living apart by dividing up property and assets to each who incurred such before and during the marriage. And permanent separation where individual debts are incurred after the two separate are still legally joint responsibilities, or where children and child custody are major concerns, often leads to legal separation. Legal separation, while still involving some divorce laws that allow for separate maintenance awards, is not as complex as divorce, not as time-consuming, and not as costly. No-fault Divorces Though no less painful than full fault divorces, no-fault divorces are not required by any divorce laws to include statement of accusation(s) made by one spouse against the other. According to one legal specialist, all states allow for no-fault divorces. The party asking for the divorce needs only offer a reason accepted by that state, using, for example, the fact that the two simply have irreconcilable differences—also known as "incompatibility" or "irremediable breakdown of the marriage." Fault Divorces As you likely infer if you’ve read this far, fault divorces are recognized by divorce law and accepted by 35 states. The one pursuing litigation must prove proper, acceptable grounds for a fault divorce, typically, for example, the basis of one or more of many possible reasons, such as cruelty on the part of the other (the defending spouse having inflicted “ unnecessary emotional or physical pain”); the offending spouse committing adultery; he or she having deserted the plaintiff and his or her family; imprisonment (which is also a type of desertion, if you will); and/or inability to or refusal