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Grounds for Divorce

The legal basis a divorce is granted on - and in every state today at least one basis requires proving no wrongdoing by anyone.

Informational only - this is not legal advice. These definitions explain general legal vocabulary in plain English. They are not advice about your situation, reading them creates no attorney-client relationship, and the law differs from state to state and changes over time. For advice you can rely on, speak to a lawyer licensed in your state.

Looking for a lawyer rather than a definition? Skip to the state-by-state list of law firms for this.

What it means

Grounds are the legal basis on which a court ends a marriage. For most of American history they were fault-based: a spouse had to plead and prove something the other had done, such as adultery, desertion, cruelty or imprisonment, and a divorce could be refused if nothing was proved. Every state now offers at least one no-fault ground, usually expressed as irreconcilable differences or an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, and in most cases that is the ground used.

What no-fault changed is narrower than it is often taken to be. It removed the need to prove misconduct to end the marriage. It did not necessarily remove fault from everything else the court decides. A number of states still allow marital misconduct to be considered when dividing property or setting spousal support, some prohibit it, and the practical weight it carries varies widely even where it is permitted. Conduct that harms a child is a separate matter again and is relevant to custody in every state.

Some states retain fault grounds alongside no-fault, so a spouse may sometimes choose. That choice is a tactical one with real consequences: a fault ground must be proved with evidence, which lengthens and sharpens the case, and it may or may not improve the outcome depending on the state.

Two requirements sit alongside grounds and are frequently confused with them. Almost every state requires residency in the state, and often in the county, before its courts may hear the case at all. Many also impose a waiting period - a minimum time between filing, or between separating, and a final decree. Both are set by state statute, both differ substantially from state to state, and neither is stated here; they are the first two things worth confirming for the state in question, because they determine when and where a case can begin rather than how it ends.

Where this comes from

There is no federal divorce statute. Grounds, residency requirements and any waiting period are fixed entirely by each state's domestic relations code, and the differences between states are substantive rather than procedural. The historical shift began with California's Family Law Act of 1969, the first no-fault statute in the United States, and every state had adopted some no-fault ground by 2010. Whether marital misconduct may be weighed in dividing property or awarding support is likewise a matter of state statute and case law and the answer differs by state. Any period of residence, separation or waiting is set by the applicable state statute and none is stated here.

When people hire a lawyer for this

The ground itself is rarely where a divorce is won or lost, and choosing a fault ground because it feels deserved is one of the more expensive decisions available in this area. Advice is worth taking before filing where the choice of ground might affect property or support in that particular state; where the spouses live in different states or one has recently moved, since residency decides which state may hear the case and filing in the wrong one wastes the filing; where a business, a pension, a professional practice or property acquired before the marriage is involved; and where there has been violence or threats, because protection is sought on its own track and does not wait for the divorce. Where the marriage was short, there are no children and nothing substantial is jointly owned, many states offer a simplified or uncontested route that a lawyer can point to in one conversation.

Worried about the cost? A lawyer can be hired for one part of a case only (limited-scope representation), may be paid from what a claim recovers (contingency fee), or may be free through a pro bono program or legal aid; a court can also waive its own filing fees.

Find a lawyer for this in your state

Choose your state to see Divorce & Separation law firms in the city where we list the most; your city may be under “other cities”, A to Z.

Alabama (Birmingham)
+1 other city
- Montgomery
Alaska (Anchorage)
Arizona (Glendale)
+6 other cities
Arkansas (Little Rock)
California (San Diego)
+19 other cities
- Anaheim
- Chula Vista
- Fremont
- Long Beach
- Los Angeles
- Modesto
- Oakland
- Oxnard
- Riverside
- Sacramento
- San Francisco
- San Jose
- and 7 more with fewer listed firms
Colorado (Colorado Springs)
+2 other cities
- Aurora
- Denver
Connecticut (Bridgeport)
Delaware (Wilmington)
District of Columbia (Washington)
Florida (Orlando)
+5 other cities
Georgia (Atlanta)
Hawaii (Honolulu)
Idaho (Boise)
Illinois (Chicago)
Indiana (Indianapolis)
+1 other city
- Fort Wayne
Iowa (Des Moines)
Kansas (Kansas City)
+1 other city
- Wichita
Kentucky (Lexington)
+1 other city
- Louisville
Louisiana (Baton Rouge)
+2 other cities
- New Orleans
- Shreveport
Maine (Portland)
Maryland (Baltimore)
Massachusetts (Boston)
Michigan (Detroit)
Minnesota (Minneapolis)
+1 other city
- Saint Paul
Mississippi (Jackson)
Missouri (St. Louis)
+1 other city
- Kansas City
Montana (Billings)
Nebraska (Lincoln)
+1 other city
- Omaha
Nevada (Henderson)
+3 other cities
New Hampshire (Manchester)
New Jersey (Newark)
+1 other city
- Jersey City
New Mexico (Albuquerque)
New York (New York City)
+2 other cities
- Buffalo
- Rochester
North Carolina (Durham)
+5 other cities
North Dakota (Fargo)
Ohio (Cincinnati)
+3 other cities
Oklahoma (Tulsa)
+1 other city
- Oklahoma City
Oregon (Portland)
Pennsylvania (Philadelphia)
+1 other city
- Pittsburgh
Rhode Island (Providence)
South Carolina (Columbia)
South Dakota (Sioux Falls)
Tennessee (Nashville)
+1 other city
- Memphis
Texas (Arlington)
+12 other cities
Utah (Salt Lake City)
Vermont (Burlington)
Virginia (Virginia Beach)
+3 other cities
Washington (Spokane)
+2 other cities
- Seattle
- Tacoma
West Virginia (Charleston)
Wisconsin (Madison)
+1 other city
- Milwaukee
Wyoming (Cheyenne)

Related terms

Other entries in the same area of law, each written from the same primary sources.

AdoptionThe court order that makes a child legally the son or daughter of someone other than the birth parents - the kinds of adoption, whose consent is required, how the birth parents' rights end, the home study and the hearing, and what the order changes about inheritance, records and the child's name.
Annulment (Void and Voidable Marriage)A court judgment declaring that a marriage was never valid, as distinct from a divorce that ends a valid one - the difference between a void and a voidable marriage, the grounds each state recognizes, who may bring the case, and what an annulment does to property, support and children.
Child SupportMoney one parent pays the other toward a child's living costs, set in most cases by a state formula rather than by negotiation.
Common-Law MarriageA marriage formed without a license or ceremony by living together as spouses and holding yourselves out as married - which states still allow it, what has to be proved, why every state recognizes one validly formed elsewhere, and what it means for property, support and inheritance when the relationship ends.
Dividing Retirement Accounts in Divorce (QDRO)How pensions, 401(k) plans and IRAs are divided at divorce without tax or penalty - what a qualified domestic relations order is and why a divorce decree alone is not enough, the difference between a defined-benefit and a defined-contribution split, the plans that need a different order, and the mistakes that cost a former spouse the share the decree awarded.
Establishing PaternityThe legal step that makes a man a child's father in law - and signing the hospital form is one of two routes, not a formality.
Grandparent and Third-Party VisitationWhen a court can order that a child spend time with a grandparent, step-parent or other non-parent over a parent's objection - the constitutional limit set by the Supreme Court, the circumstances in which state statutes allow a petition, the special weight a fit parent's decision receives, and what a petitioner must prove.
Guardian ad Litem and Custody EvaluatorThe two neutrals a court most often appoints in a contested custody case - what a guardian ad litem does and does not do, how it differs from a child's attorney and from a custody evaluator, who pays, what they may see, and how their reports are used at trial.
Guardianship of a MinorA court order giving an adult who is not the parent legal authority over a child's care, or over the child's property, without ending the parents' rights - how it differs from custody and adoption, who can be appointed, what the parents keep, and how it ends.
Legal and Physical CustodyTwo different things the word "custody" covers: who makes major decisions for a child, and where the child lives.
Legal SeparationA court status in which spouses live apart with binding orders on support, property and children, while remaining married.
Marital Property DivisionHow a court splits what a couple owns - and "equitable" means fair in that state's judgment, which is not the same as half.
Modifying a Custody or Support OrderChanging an existing family court order - which usually requires proving something has changed, and never happens by the parents' agreement alone.
Parenting Plan and VisitationThe written schedule and decision-making rules for a child after separation - and the document courts increasingly require rather than invite.
Prenuptial AgreementA contract made before marriage about property and support - enforceable in every state, and set aside more often than most people expect.
Protective Order (Restraining Order)A court order telling one person to stop contacting or coming near another - enforceable by police, and valid across state lines.
Relocating With a ChildMoving a child away from the other parent - the family law dispute most likely to require the court's permission before the move, not after.
Spousal Support (Alimony)Payments from one former spouse to the other - discretionary in most states, and taxed differently for instruments made after 2018.
Termination of Parental RightsThe court order that permanently ends the legal relationship between a parent and child - the grounds a state must prove, the heightened standard of proof and right to counsel, the difference between voluntary relinquishment and an involuntary petition, and what the order does and does not end.

« All glossary terms

Part of the LawyerLand plain-English legal glossary. Definitions are written from primary sources - statutes and court rules - and each entry states the authority it rests on, or says plainly when the doctrine is state law with no national rule.

If you cannot afford a lawyer, civil legal aid programs provide free help with many of these problems: civil legal aid programs by state.

Related free reference tools: statute of limitations for a personal-injury claim, by state, quoted from each state's official text - part of LawyerLand's legal reference tools.