What are the grounds for divorce?

In California, grounds for divorce are the legal reasons why a couple can end their marriage. The grounds to file for divorce in California are fault-based or no-fault-based. Under the fault-based system a spouse can file for divorce when the other spouse is at fault for the divorce, such as when a spouse has committed adultery or has been cruel or abusive. On the other hand, the no-fault option requires the couple to agree to end the marriage and no particular reason needs to be stated. The most common ground for divorce in California is irreconcilable differences, which is a no-fault reason. This means that the couple agrees that the marriage is no longer workable and has irreconcilable differences that cannot be reconciled. In this case, no particular reason needs to be stated in order to file for divorce. Other grounds for divorce in California include incurable insanity, when one spouse has been of unsound mind for a period of at least five years and has been confined in a psychiatric hospital or other institution for a portion of that time. Abandonment is another reason for filing for divorce in California and it involves one spouse leaving the other spouse for at least one year with no intention of returning. Domestic violence is also a grounds for filing for divorce and includes physical and verbal abuse by one spouse against the other. Finally, the court can grant a divorce based on irreconcilable differences even when one spouse does not agree to it.

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What are the grounds for divorce?

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