In the past, people needed a reason for divorce. One spouse might have said that the other person was physically abusive, for instance, or claimed that they engaged in an extramarital affair. If this was shown to be true, then the court would grant the divorce.
But is this still true? Perhaps you don’t have a major reason like the examples noted above. You just know that you are unhappy in your marriage and you would like to end the relationship. But are you stuck within that marriage contract unless you can come up with a valid reason that the court will accept to approve your divorce?
No-fault divorce laws
You don’t have to worry about doing this, and the reason is that most people simply make use of modern no-fault divorce laws. These did not exist in the past, so people did have to prove fault and show that a divorce was justified. Today, all you have to do is say that you have irreconcilable differences and that you want to end the marriage. No further reason is needed.
In fact, you’ll find that courts almost never approve or disapprove a divorce. The role of the court isn’t to decide if a divorce is permissible, but rather to work with the couple as they sort out their legal issues. The court can help with things like dividing assets or splitting up parenting time with the children. This is still an important legal process, even if the divorce doesn’t need to be approved or denied outright.
If you are getting divorced and you’ve never been through this process before, it’s very important that you understand all of your legal rights under modern laws.