{"id":"divorce-grounds","title":"Divorce grounds","fields":[{"key":"authority","label":"Authority"},{"key":"grounds","label":"Grounds without a misconduct showing"},{"key":"other","label":"Other grounds and proof conditions"},{"key":"separation","label":"Separation"},{"key":"timing","label":"Timing"},{"key":"relief","label":"Relief without dissolution"},{"key":"covenant","label":"Covenant marriage: separate rules"}],"records":[{"jurisdiction_id":"US-AL","name":"Alabama","summary":"Complete incompatibility of temperament such that the parties can no longer live together, upon the court’s satisfaction from the testimony; or a court finding of irretrievable breakdown and that further reconciliation attempts are impractical or futile and not in the best interests of the parties or family (§30-2-1(a)(7), (9)). Section 30-2-2 also permits divorce after a final bed-and-board or separate-maintenance judgment has been in force more than two years.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Ala. Code §§ 30-2-1, 30-2-2, 30-2-8.1, 30-2-40.","grounds":"Complete incompatibility of temperament such that the parties can no longer live together, upon the court’s satisfaction from the testimony; or a court finding of irretrievable breakdown and that further reconciliation attempts are impractical or futile and not in the best interests of the parties or family (§30-2-1(a)(7), (9)). Section 30-2-2 also permits divorce after a final bed-and-board or separate-maintenance judgment has been in force more than two years.","other":"The other §30-2-1 grounds include physical and incurable incapacity at marriage; adultery; voluntary abandonment from bed and board for the year immediately before filing; two years in a penitentiary on a sentence of seven years or longer; the specified crime against nature; addiction after marriage to habitual drunkenness or the specified drugs; and mental-hospital confinement after marriage for five successive years with hopeless, incurable insanity at filing and the superintendent’s certified sworn opinion after full study and examination. The statute also includes the wife’s pregnancy at marriage without the husband’s knowledge or agency; actual violence attended with danger to life or health or reasonable apprehension of such violence; and the wife’s two years apart without the husband’s support immediately before filing, with bona fide Alabama residence throughout that period. These include status conditions as well as misconduct.","relief":"Yes, § 30-2-40","separation":"None for no-fault. (3) abandonment one year. (12) wife-only two years apart without support","timing":"30 days from filing, § 30-2-8.1"},"sources":[{"label":"Alabama — cited provision 30 2 2 browser","url":"https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=30-2-2"},{"label":"Ala. Code §30-2-1","url":"https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=30-2-1"},{"label":"Ala. Code §30-2-8.1","url":"https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=30-2-8.1"},{"label":"Ala. Code §30-2-40","url":"https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabama?section=30-2-40"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-AK","name":"Alaska","summary":"Incompatibility of temperament supports divorce. A distinct dissolution procedure uses incompatibility causing irremediable breakdown, with requirements that differ for joint and individual petitions.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Alaska Stat. §§ 25.24.050, .200, .220, .400. Alaska R. Civ. P. 90.1(c).","grounds":"Incompatibility of temperament supports divorce. A distinct dissolution procedure uses incompatibility causing irremediable breakdown, with requirements that differ for joint and individual petitions.","other":"9: failure to consummate, adultery, felony conviction, willful desertion 1 yr, cruel and inhuman treatment, personal indignities, habitual gross drunkenness 1 yr, incurable mental illness with 18 months' confinement, drug addiction","relief":"Yes, AS 25.24.400, ch. 80 SLA 2002","separation":"No general separation period identified for the ordinary breakdown route. See the ground and timing conditions.","timing":"The hearing must be at least 30 days after filing under Civil Rule 90.1(c), subject to a good-cause exception."},"sources":[{"label":"Court civil rules","url":"https://courts.alaska.gov/rules/docs/civ.pdf"},{"label":"Alaska courts: starting divorce proceedings","url":"https://courts.alaska.gov/shc/family/start.htm"},{"label":"Alaska Statutes, title 25","url":"https://www.akleg.gov/statutesPDF/Title-25.pdf"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-AZ","name":"Arizona","summary":"Ordinary marriage: irretrievable breakdown. A denial produces a hearing and possible reconciliation continuance, not a permanent consent veto. Covenant grounds are separately stated below.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"A.R.S. § 25-312 ; covenant § 25-903","covenant":"Arizona, § 25-903: adultery, a felony sentence to death or imprisonment, one-year abandonment with the stated refusal to return, qualifying abuse or domestic violence, two years apart, one year apart after a legal-separation decree, habitual alcohol or drug abuse, or both spouses’ agreement to dissolve. The consent ground is an important difference from the other covenant designs. [3]","grounds":"Ordinary marriage: irretrievable breakdown. A denial produces a hearing and possible reconciliation continuance, not a permanent consent veto. Covenant grounds are separately stated below.","other":"No ordinary misconduct ground. The covenant-marriage grounds must not be merged into the ordinary list.","relief":"Yes, § 25-313","separation":"None (covenant: 2 yrs apart, or 1 yr after legal separation)","timing":"60 days after service or acceptance of process under § 25-329. Breakdown-denial procedures are in § 25-316."},"sources":[{"label":"Arizona Revised Statutes § 25-312","url":"https://www.azleg.gov/ars/25/00312.htm"},{"label":"Arizona Revised Statutes § 25-313","url":"https://www.azleg.gov/ars/25/00313.htm"},{"label":"Arizona Revised Statutes § 25-329","url":"https://www.azleg.gov/ars/25/00329.htm"},{"label":"Arizona Revised Statutes § 25-901","url":"https://www.azleg.gov/ars/25/00901.htm"},{"label":"Arizona Revised Statutes § 25-903","url":"https://www.azleg.gov/ars/25/00903.htm"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-AR","name":"Arkansas","summary":"18 continuous months living separate and apart without cohabitation, regardless of fault. Covenant marriages have a separate statutory list.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Ark. Code Ann. § 9-12-301(b)","covenant":"Arkansas, § 9-11-808: after authorized counseling, a covenant-marriage divorce requires an enumerated ground: adultery; commission of a felony or other infamous crime; specified physical or sexual abuse; two continuous years apart without reconciliation; or the prescribed period apart after a signed judgment of judicial separation. The post-judicial-separation period is two years, or two years and six months where there is a minor child; if abuse of a child of the marriage or either spouse was the basis for the judicial-separation judgment, the spouses must instead have lived apart continuously without reconciliation for one year after that judgment was signed, as specified in (a)(5)(B)(ii). Subsection (b) separately lists the grounds for judicial separation. [4]","grounds":"18 continuous months living separate and apart without cohabitation, regardless of fault. Covenant marriages have a separate statutory list.","other":"8: impotence, felony or infamous crime, habitual drunkenness 1 yr, cruel and barbarous treatment, indignities, adultery, incurable insanity with 3 yrs apart and commitment, willful non-support","relief":"Yes, divorce \"from bed and board,\" § 9-12-301(b)","separation":"18 months for ordinary no-fault divorce. Oxford v. Oxford, 237 Ark. 384, 373 S.W.2d 707, 708 (1963), rejected a separation claim where the spouses remained in the same home in separate rooms. The case involved the former three-year period, not the present 18 months.","timing":"30 days after filing under § 9-12-307(a)(1)(B), as shown in a 2025 code reproduction. An exception appearing in a 1993 enactment is absent from that reproduction. Later operative text and amendments have not been confirmed."},"sources":[{"label":"Arkansas Act 1890 (2005): enacted text","url":"https://arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2005%2FPublic%2FACT1890.pdf"},{"label":"Arkansas — cited provision 9 11 808 legaldb","url":"https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-9/subtitle-2/chapter-11/subchapter-8/section-9-11-808/"},{"label":"Arkansas — cited provision 9 12 301 legaldb","url":"https://law.justia.com/codes/arkansas/title-9/subtitle-2/chapter-12/subchapter-3/section-9-12-301/"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-CA","name":"California","summary":"(a) \"Irreconcilable differences, which have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage\"; (b) \"Permanent legal incapacity to make decisions\"","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Cal. Fam. Code § 2310","grounds":"(a) \"Irreconcilable differences, which have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage\"; (b) \"Permanent legal incapacity to make decisions\"","other":"No additional grounds identified.","relief":"Yes, § 2310 covers dissolution \"or legal separation\"","separation":"No general separation period identified for the ordinary breakdown route. See the ground and timing conditions.","timing":"Six months after service of the summons and petition or the respondent’s appearance, whichever occurs first, before the dissolution becomes final. Section 2339 does not require a six-month delay for a legal-separation judgment."},"sources":[{"label":"California Family Code § 2310","url":"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=FAM&sectionNum=2310."},{"label":"California Family Code § 2311","url":"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=FAM&sectionNum=2311."},{"label":"California Family Code § 2339","url":"https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=FAM&sectionNum=2339."}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-CO","name":"Colorado","summary":"Irretrievable breakdown. If a party denies breakdown under oath or affirmation, the court considers the relevant factors and either makes a breakdown finding or continues for further hearing 35 to 63 days later, or as soon afterward as the court calendar permits (§ 14-10-110(2)).","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Colo. Rev. Stat. §§ 14-10-106, -110 (2025), checked against the legislature’s 2026 Red Book.","grounds":"Irretrievable breakdown. If a party denies breakdown under oath or affirmation, the court considers the relevant factors and either makes a breakdown finding or continues for further hearing 35 to 63 days later, or as soon afterward as the court calendar permits (§ 14-10-110(2)).","other":"No additional grounds identified.","relief":"Yes, § 14-10-106(2)","separation":"No general separation period identified for the ordinary breakdown route. See the ground and timing conditions.","timing":"91 days after the court acquires jurisdiction over the respondent. This is not invariably 91 days from filing."},"sources":[{"label":"Colorado Revised Statutes, title 14 (2025)","url":"https://olls.info/crs/crs2025-title-14.pdf"},{"label":"Colorado 2026 § 14-10-110 denial and calendar qualification","url":"https://olls.info/crs/crs2026-title-14.htm"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-CT","name":"Connecticut","summary":"(1) \"The marriage has broken down irretrievably\"; (2) lived apart \"by reason of incompatibility\" 18 months with \"no reasonable prospect\" of reconciliation","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-40(c)","grounds":"(1) \"The marriage has broken down irretrievably\"; (2) lived apart \"by reason of incompatibility\" 18 months with \"no reasonable prospect\" of reconciliation","other":"8: adultery, fraudulent contract, willful desertion 1 yr with total neglect of duty, seven years' absence unheard from, habitual intemperance, intolerable cruelty, life imprisonment or infamous crime, 5 yrs mental-illness confinement within 6","relief":"Yes, § 46b-40(c)","separation":"None for (1); 18 months for (2)","timing":"Section 46b-67 generally bars a contested trial until 90 days after the return date. Its agreed and default procedures can permit earlier disposition. The separate nonadversarial procedure has its own eligibility and timing rules. A universal 90-day filing-to-decree description is inaccurate."},"sources":[{"label":"gen stat 46b 40 and 46b 67","url":"https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_815j.htm"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-DE","name":"Delaware","summary":"Irretrievable breakdown with reconciliation improbable is the statutory basis. Section 1505 identifies voluntary separation, respondent misconduct, mental illness and incompatibility as characterizations of breakdown.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Del. Code Ann. tit. 13, § 1505 ; definitions § 1503","grounds":"Irretrievable breakdown with reconciliation improbable is the statutory basis. Section 1505 identifies voluntary separation, respondent misconduct, mental illness and incompatibility as characterizations of breakdown.","other":"Misconduct is expressly relevant to the statutory route, including the separation exception. Calling Delaware wholly indifferent to fault would be misleading.","relief":"No separate decree in ch. 15","separation":"Six months before ruling, except separation caused by misconduct. Section 1503 permits the same residence with separate bedrooms and no sexual relations. Section 1505(e) addresses reconciliation attempts and the final 30 days.","timing":"The six months is a separation requirement, not a filing-to-hearing waiting period."},"sources":[{"label":"Delaware Code, chapter 15","url":"https://delcode.delaware.gov/title13/c015/index.html"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-DC","name":"District of Columbia","summary":"An assertion by one or both parties that they no longer wish to remain married. The statute eliminates a marital-breakdown or separation showing, but jurisdiction and procedural requirements still apply.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"D.C. Code §§ 16-904, -920.","grounds":"An assertion by one or both parties that they no longer wish to remain married. The statute eliminates a marital-breakdown or separation showing, but jurisdiction and procedural requirements still apply.","other":"No additional grounds identified.","relief":"Yes, § 16-904(b)","separation":"No general separation period identified for the ordinary breakdown route. See the ground and timing conditions.","timing":"Under § 16-920, a decree generally becomes effective to dissolve the marriage 30 days after docketing unless a party applies for a stay. The statute separately states that a joint waiver of the right to appeal makes the decree final upon docketing of the joint waiver. Stays and appeals require separate treatment. There is no prefiling separation period in § 16-904(a)."},"sources":[{"label":"District of Columbia — cited provision 16 920","url":"https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/16-920"},{"label":"code 16 904","url":"https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/code/sections/16-904"},{"label":"law 1 107","url":"https://code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/laws/1-107"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-FL","name":"Florida","summary":"(a) \"The marriage is irretrievably broken\"; (b) mental incapacity adjudged for at least 3 years","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Fla. Stat. § 61.052(1)","grounds":"(a) \"The marriage is irretrievably broken\"; (b) mental incapacity adjudged for at least 3 years","other":"No additional grounds identified.","relief":"No. Support without dissolution only, § 61.09","separation":"No general separation period identified for the ordinary breakdown route. See the ground and timing conditions.","timing":"Ordinarily at least 20 days after filing before final judgment; the court may enter judgment earlier upon a showing that the delay would cause injustice (§ 61.19)."},"sources":[{"label":"Florida — stat 61 052","url":"https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.052.html"},{"label":"Florida — stat 61 09","url":"https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.09.html"},{"label":"Florida — stat 61 19","url":"https://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0000-0099/0061/Sections/0061.19.html"},{"label":"Fla. Stat. § 61.19 (2026)","url":"https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2026/61.19"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-GA","name":"Georgia","summary":"(13) \"The marriage is irretrievably broken\"","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"O.C.G.A. § 19-5-3","grounds":"(13) \"The marriage is irretrievably broken\"","other":"Twelve grounds in addition to breakdown: prohibited kinship; mental incapacity at marriage; impotency at marriage; force, menace, duress, or fraud in obtaining the marriage; the wife's pregnancy by another man at marriage, unknown to the husband; adultery after marriage; one-year willful and continued desertion; conviction of an offense involving moral turpitude with a sentence of imprisonment for at least two years; habitual intoxication; cruelty as statutorily defined; incurable mental illness under the statutory findings and treatment conditions; and habitual drug addiction. “Twelve fault grounds” inaccurately treats incapacity and prohibited kinship as misconduct.","relief":"Section 19-6-10 provides a separate-maintenance/equitable-relief proceeding when spouses live separately or in a bona fide state of separation and no divorce action is pending. It is held in abeyance when a bona fide divorce petition is filed and the judge has entered the specified alimony order.","separation":"No general separation period identified for the ordinary breakdown route. See the ground and timing conditions.","timing":"No decree on ground (13) until 30 days from service, § 19-5-3(13)"},"sources":[{"label":"Ga. Code Ann. § 19-5-3 (Justia)","url":"https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/title-19/chapter-5/section-19-5-3/"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-HI","name":"Hawaii","summary":"Four grounds: irretrievable breakdown, expiration of a qualifying bed-and-board separation decree, at least two years apart under a separate-maintenance decree, or two years apart with no reasonable likelihood of resumed cohabitation and the additional statutory findings.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 580-41, -42, -45, -71.","grounds":"Four grounds: irretrievable breakdown, expiration of a qualifying bed-and-board separation decree, at least two years apart under a separate-maintenance decree, or two years apart with no reasonable likelihood of resumed cohabitation and the additional statutory findings.","other":"none (0)","relief":"Yes, separation from bed and board up to 2 years, § 580-71","separation":"No separation prerequisite for breakdown. The two-year routes and the decree-expiration route are alternatives. The hardship and public-interest proviso belongs to the fourth ground.","timing":"Section 580-45 permits the court to set effectiveness at entry or a date within one month. This is not a mandatory one-month waiting period."},"sources":[{"label":"Hawaii — cited provision 580 45","url":"https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0580/HRS_0580-0045.htm"},{"label":"Hawaii — hrs 580 41","url":"https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0580/HRS_0580-0041.htm"},{"label":"Hawaii — hrs 580 42","url":"https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0580/HRS_0580-0042.htm"},{"label":"Hawaii — hrs 580 71","url":"https://data.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol12_Ch0501-0588/HRS0580/HRS_0580-0071.htm"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-ID","name":"Idaho","summary":"\"Irreconcilable differences\"","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Idaho Code §§ 32-603, 32-616, 32-610","grounds":"\"Irreconcilable differences\"","other":"adultery, extreme cruelty, willful desertion, willful neglect, habitual intemperance, conviction of felony, permanent insanity (7)","relief":"Yes, decree of legal separation, § 32-704(2)","separation":"5 years living \"separate and apart ... without cohabitation\" (§ 32-610); same-roof not addressed","timing":"No merits hearing or final decree until at least 21 days after commencement and service, except the court may proceed earlier if both parties agree and both are present in person or represented by counsel at trial. If grounds are established and reconciliation is practicable and in the family’s best interests, the court may stay proceedings up to 90 days where there are minor children (§ 32-716)."},"sources":[{"label":"Idaho — idaho code 32 603","url":"https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title32/T32CH6/SECT32-603/"},{"label":"Idaho — idaho code 32 610","url":"https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title32/T32CH6/SECT32-610/"},{"label":"Idaho — idaho code 32 616","url":"https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title32/T32CH6/SECT32-616/"},{"label":"Idaho — idaho code 32 704","url":"https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title32/T32CH7/SECT32-704/"},{"label":"Idaho — idaho code 32 716","url":"https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title32/T32CH7/SECT32-716/"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-IL","name":"Illinois","summary":"Irreconcilable differences causing irretrievable breakdown, with reconciliation efforts failed or impracticable and further attempts contrary to the family’s best interests.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"750 ILCS 5/401","grounds":"Irreconcilable differences causing irretrievable breakdown, with reconciliation efforts failed or impracticable and further attempts contrary to the family’s best interests.","other":"No additional divorce grounds in § 401.","relief":"Yes, § 402","separation":"Six months apart creates an irrebuttable presumption. It is not a compulsory separation period for every divorce.","timing":"none in § 401"},"sources":[{"label":"Illinois — cited provision 401 current","url":"https://www.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/075000050K401.htm"},{"label":"Illinois — cited provision 402 current","url":"https://www.ilga.gov/documents/legislation/ilcs/documents/075000050K402.htm"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-IN","name":"Indiana","summary":"\"Irretrievable breakdown of the marriage\"","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Ind. Code §§ 31-15-2-3, -10 to -16; 31-15-3-3.","grounds":"\"Irretrievable breakdown of the marriage\"","other":"felony conviction after marriage, impotence at marriage, incurable insanity 2 years (3)","relief":"Yes, § 31-15-3-3","separation":"none","timing":"Ordinarily a final hearing is no earlier than 60 days after the dissolution petition (§ 31-15-2-10). Under § 11, a dissolution petition or counterpetition filed after a legal-separation petition may be heard after 60 days from that separation filing. Section 13 permits a summary dissolution decree without a final hearing at least 60 days after the dissolution petition if verified pleadings signed by both parties contain a final-hearing waiver and either no contested issues or the qualifying written agreement. Sections 14–15 separately address uncontested issues and reconciliation continuance."},"sources":[{"label":"Ind. Code § 31-15-2-3","url":"https://iga.in.gov/laws/2026/ic/titles/31#31-15-2-3"},{"label":"Indiana §§31-15-2-11 and -13 — January1,2026 reproduction","url":"https://codes.findlaw.com/in/title-31-family-law-and-juvenile-law/in-code-sect-31-15-2-11/"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-IA","name":"Iowa","summary":"\"breakdown of the marriage relationship to the extent that the legitimate objects of matrimony have been destroyed and there remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved\"","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Iowa Code §§ 598.17, 598.19","grounds":"\"breakdown of the marriage relationship to the extent that the legitimate objects of matrimony have been destroyed and there remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved\"","other":"none (0)","relief":"Yes, separate maintenance, § 598.28","separation":"none","timing":"Generally, no decree until at least 90 days after the applicable notice event (service of original notice, the last day of publication of notice, or filing of waiver or acceptance of original notice), and until any court-ordered conciliation is completed, whichever period is longer. On written motion supported by affidavit showing emergency or necessity and facts warranting immediate action to protect affected rights or interests, the court may hold a hearing and grant an earlier decree if notice requirements are met. The grounds and facts must appear in the decree unless the court orders otherwise. If the respondent fails to appear within the time in the original notice, the court may find default and waive ordered conciliation (§ 598.19)."},"sources":[{"label":"Iowa Senate File 2172 (2026): introduced bill","url":"https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/publications/LGI/91/attachments/SF2172.html"},{"label":"iowa code 598 17","url":"https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/598.17.pdf"},{"label":"iowa code 598 19","url":"https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/598.19.pdf"},{"label":"iowa code 598 28","url":"https://www.legis.iowa.gov/docs/code/598.28.pdf"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-KS","name":"Kansas","summary":"\"Incompatibility\"","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Kan. Stat. Ann. § 23-2701","grounds":"\"Incompatibility\"","other":"Failure to perform a material marital duty or obligation. A third statutory ground is incompatibility caused by mental illness or incapacity, with institutionalization or adjudication and medical-prognosis requirements. Adultery is not separately enumerated.","relief":"Yes, separate maintenance on the same grounds, § 23-2701(a)","separation":"none","timing":"Ordinarily the divorce action may not be heard until 60 days after filing. Section 23-2708 permits an earlier hearing upon a judicial order declaring the precise emergency and stating the material evidence and witnesses. Unless agreed otherwise, the emergency request awaits expiration of the answer period; unless waived, nondefaulting parties receive at least seven days’ hearing notice."},"sources":[{"label":"Kansas — ksa 23 2701","url":"https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch23/023_027_0001.html"},{"label":"Kansas — ksa 23 2708","url":"https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch23/023_027_0008.html"},{"label":"Kansas — former K.S.A. 60-1601 transfer note","url":"https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch60/060_016_0001.html"},{"label":"K.S.A. 23-2701 — 2026 Kansas Statutes","url":"https://kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/laws/023_000_0000_chapter/023_027_0000_article/023_027_0001_section/023_027_0001_k/"},{"label":"K.S.A. 23-2708 — 2026 Kansas Statutes","url":"https://kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/laws/023_000_0000_chapter/023_027_0000_article/023_027_0008_section/023_027_0008_k/"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-KY","name":"Kentucky","summary":"Irretrievable breakdown. The court must also find the spouses have lived apart for at least 60 days.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Ky. Rev. Stat. §§ 403.140, 403.170","grounds":"Irretrievable breakdown. The court must also find the spouses have lived apart for at least 60 days.","other":"none (0)","relief":"Yes, § 403.140(2); divorce from bed and board also survives at § 403.050","separation":"60 days. Section 403.170 expressly includes living under one roof without sexual cohabitation.","timing":"Two separate requirements: 60 days living apart under § 403.170, and, where minor children of the marriage are involved, no testimony other than on temporary motions until 60 days after the earliest of service of summons, appointment of a warning-order attorney, or filing of the defendant’s entry of appearance or responsive pleading (§ 403.044). They should not be added mechanically."},"sources":[{"label":"Kentucky — krs 403 044","url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=36510"},{"label":"Kentucky — krs 403 050","url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=36511"},{"label":"Kentucky — krs 403 140","url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=1447"},{"label":"Kentucky — krs 403 170","url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=1450"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-LA","name":"Louisiana","summary":"Ordinary marriage: continuous separation for 180 days without minor children or 365 days with minor children. Article 103(1) uses separation completed before the petition. Article 102 uses a post-service or written-waiver procedure.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"La. Civ. Code arts. 102, 103, 103.1 ; La. R.S. 9:272, 9:307","covenant":"Louisiana, La. Rev. Stat. § 9:307: adultery, a felony sentence to death or hard labor, one-year abandonment with refusal to return, qualifying physical or sexual abuse, two years apart, and specified periods after a separation judgment. The ordinary post-separation-judgment period is one year, generally 18 months with minor children, with the statutory abuse exception. Counseling requirements and the abuse exception must be read with the ground invoked. The bed-and-board list is distinct. [19]","grounds":"Ordinary marriage: continuous separation for 180 days without minor children or 365 days with minor children. Article 103(1) uses separation completed before the petition. Article 102 uses a post-service or written-waiver procedure.","other":"Adultery, felony conviction with sentence to death or hard labor, physical or sexual abuse of the spouse or a child of either spouse, and a qualifying protective order or injunction after a contradictory hearing or consent decree. Covenant rules appear below.","relief":"Only inside covenant marriage, La. R.S. 9:307(B) ; none for standard marriage","separation":"180 or 365 days. Physical separation must be considered with intent to end the marital association. Adams v. Adams, 408 So. 2d 1322, 1325–28 (La. 1982), construed the predecessor law. Succession of Le Jeune, 221 La. 437, 59 So. 2d 446, 449 (1952), described the separate-abode rule in a property dispute. Neither establishes a Maryland-style statutory permission for ordinary same-house separation.","timing":"For article 102, the required period follows service or written waiver before the rule to show cause. The article 103(1) period precedes filing. Other article 103 grounds do not carry that separation requirement."},"sources":[{"label":"Louisiana Civil Code art. 102","url":"https://legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=108532"},{"label":"Louisiana Civil Code art. 103.1","url":"https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=408225"},{"label":"Louisiana Civil Code art. 103","url":"https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=108533"},{"label":"Pociask opinion (Louisiana Supreme Court, 2013)","url":"https://www.lasc.org/opinions/2013/13C0262.opn.pdf"},{"label":"Louisiana Revised Statutes § 9:272","url":"https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?p=y&d=107157"},{"label":"Louisiana Revised Statutes § 9:307","url":"https://www.legis.la.gov/legis/Law.aspx?d=107343"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-ME","name":"Maine","summary":"\"Irreconcilable marital differences\"","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 19-A, §§ 851, 902. Me. R. Civ. P. 113.","grounds":"\"Irreconcilable marital differences\"","other":"adultery, impotence, extreme cruelty, utter desertion 3 years, gross and confirmed habits of intoxication, nonsupport, cruel and abusive treatment (7); plus a guardianship ground, § 902(1)(J)","relief":"Yes, judicial separation, 19-A M.R.S. § 851","separation":"none","timing":"60 days after service before final hearing under Me. R. Civ. P. 113. This is a court-rule requirement, now checked on the judiciary’s text."},"sources":[{"label":"Maine — cited provision 19 a mrs 851","url":"https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/19-A/title19-Asec851.html"},{"label":"Maine — cited provision 19 a mrs 901","url":"https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/19-A/title19-Asec901.html"},{"label":"Maine — cited provision 19 a mrs 902","url":"https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/19-A/title19-Asec902.html"},{"label":"Maine Rule of Civil Procedure 113","url":"https://www.courts.maine.gov/rules/text/MRCivPPlus/RULE%20113.pdf"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-MD","name":"Maryland","summary":"\"6-month separation,\" \"irreconcilable differences,\" \"mutual consent\"","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Md. Code, Fam. Law § 7-103","grounds":"\"6-month separation,\" \"irreconcilable differences,\" \"mutual consent\"","other":"none (0)","relief":"No; limited divorce (§ 7-102) repealed by 2023 Md. Laws ch. 645","separation":"6 months \"without interruption\"; same roof qualifies if the parties \"have pursued separate lives,\" § 7-103(b)","timing":"none in § 7-103"},"sources":[{"label":"Maryland Family Law § 7-103","url":"https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Laws/StatuteText?article=gfl&section=7-103&enactments=false"},{"label":"Walter v. Walter (Maryland, 2008): historical discussion","url":"https://www.mdcourts.gov/data/opinions/cosa/2008/2339s06.pdf"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-MA","name":"Massachusetts","summary":"\"irretrievable breakdown of the marriage\" (§§ 1A, 1B)","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 208, §§ 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 21. Ch. 209, § 32.","grounds":"\"irretrievable breakdown of the marriage\" (§§ 1A, 1B)","other":"Seven additional statutory grounds: adultery, impotency, one-year utter desertion, gross and confirmed intoxication, cruel and abusive treatment, gross or wanton refusal to provide suitable support, and the § 2 ground of sentence to confinement for life or five years or more. Section 2 was omitted from the original inventory.","relief":"Yes, separate support, ch. 209, § 32","separation":"None. No living-apart ground","timing":"Section 1A: judgment nisi 30 days after initial approval of the agreement; § 21 ordinarily makes it absolute 90 days after entry. Within that period, on a party’s application and for sufficient cause, the court may otherwise order. Section 1B: generally no hearing before six months after filing, then the § 21 nisi-to-absolute period; conversion to § 1A and the statutory procedures prevent a universal nine-month rule."},"sources":[{"label":"Massachusetts — cited provision 208 2","url":"https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleIII/Chapter208/Section2"},{"label":"Massachusetts — mgl 208 1","url":"https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleIII/Chapter208/Section1"},{"label":"Massachusetts — mgl 208 1a","url":"https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleIII/Chapter208/Section1A"},{"label":"Massachusetts — mgl 208 1b","url":"https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleIII/Chapter208/Section1B"},{"label":"Massachusetts — mgl 208 21","url":"https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleIII/Chapter208/Section21"},{"label":"Massachusetts — mgl 209 32","url":"https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleIII/Chapter209/Section32"},{"label":"Massachusetts divorce timing — scoped statutory reproductions","url":"https://law.justia.com/codes/massachusetts/part-ii/title-iii/chapter-208/section-21/"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-MI","name":"Michigan","summary":"\"breakdown of the marriage relationship to the extent that the objects of matrimony have been destroyed and there remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved\"","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Mich. Comp. Laws § 552.6","grounds":"\"breakdown of the marriage relationship to the extent that the objects of matrimony have been destroyed and there remains no reasonable likelihood that the marriage can be preserved\"","other":"None (0)","relief":"Yes, separate maintenance on the same ground, § 552.7","separation":"No general separation period identified for the ordinary breakdown route. See the ground and timing conditions.","timing":"Ordinarily no proofs or testimony before 60 days after filing; where there are dependent minor children under 18, ordinarily six months. Upon petition and a proper showing of unusual hardship or compelling necessity, testimony may be taken after 60 days; conditional testimony to preserve evidence is separately permitted (§ 552.9f). The text also retains a desertion clause. This entry does not establish that clause’s modern application or treat desertion as an additional current divorce ground under § 552.6."},"sources":[{"label":"Michigan — mcl 552 6","url":"https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-552-6"},{"label":"Michigan — mcl 552 7","url":"https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-552-7"},{"label":"Michigan — mcl 552 9f","url":"https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-552-9f"},{"label":"MCL552.9f — official indexed text, scoped timing review","url":"https://legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-552-9f"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-MN","name":"Minnesota","summary":"\"irretrievable breakdown of the marriage relationship\"","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Minn. Stat. § 518.06, subd. 1, and § 518.13","grounds":"\"irretrievable breakdown of the marriage relationship\"","other":"None (0). All defenses abolished","relief":"Yes, decree of legal separation, § 518.06, subds. 1, 3","separation":"Not required. If irretrievable breakdown is denied under oath or affirmation, the required finding may rest on evidence that the parties lived separate and apart for at least 180 days immediately before commencement or that serious marital discord adversely affected one or both parties’ attitude toward the marriage, § 518.13, subd. 2.","timing":"No generally applicable filing-to-decree minimum identified. In a default case without minor children, approval without a final hearing requires that the respondent has not appeared after service duly made and proved by affidavit and that at least 20 days have elapsed since the time for answering under § 518.12 expired (§ 518.13, subd. 5(1)(ii)). This is a conditional approval procedure, not a universal 20-day waiting period."},"sources":[{"label":"Minnesota — stat 518 06","url":"https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/518.06"},{"label":"Minnesota — stat 518 06_2023 edition","url":"https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/2023/cite/518.06"},{"label":"Minnesota — stat 518 09","url":"https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/518.09"},{"label":"Minnesota — stat 518 13","url":"https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/518.13"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-MS","name":"Mississippi","summary":"Irreconcilable differences under § 93-5-2 requires agreement resolving the specified issues or written consent submitting disputed issues for decision. A contest or denial blocks this ground unless withdrawn in the manner the statute permits.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Miss. Code Ann. §§ 93-5-1, -2. Current text reproduced in the archived code mirror, cross-checked with enacted 2017 S.B. 2680 and the 2026 session materials. An introduced bill is not treated as an enacted amendment.","grounds":"Irreconcilable differences under § 93-5-2 requires agreement resolving the specified issues or written consent submitting disputed issues for decision. A contest or denial blocks this ground unless withdrawn in the manner the statute permits.","other":"Natural impotency, adultery, penitentiary sentence, willful continued and obstinate desertion for one year, habitual drunkenness, habitual and excessive drug use, habitual cruel and inhuman treatment including spousal domestic abuse, mental illness or intellectual disability at marriage, prior marriage, pregnancy by another at marriage, prohibited kinship, incurable mental illness (12)","relief":"No statutory legal separation. Court-made separate maintenance only","separation":"No general elapsed-separation substitute for consent.","timing":"Irreconcilable-differences complaint must be on file 60 days before hearing, § 93-5-2(4)"},"sources":[{"label":"Miss. Code Ann. § 93-5-2 (Justia)","url":"https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-93/chapter-5/section-93-5-2/"},{"label":"Miss. Code Ann. § 93-5-1 (Justia)","url":"https://law.justia.com/codes/mississippi/title-93/chapter-5/section-93-5-1/"},{"label":"Mississippi Legislature: 2026 enacted-law summary","url":"https://www.legislature.ms.gov/media/1368/26-summary.pdf"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-MO","name":"Missouri","summary":"Irretrievable breakdown. If denied under oath, § 452.320 requires one of five specified facts: intolerable adultery, unreasonable-to-live-with behavior, six-month abandonment, 12 months apart by mutual consent, or 24 months apart.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Mo. Rev. Stat. §§ 452.305, 452.320","grounds":"Irretrievable breakdown. If denied under oath, § 452.320 requires one of five specified facts: intolerable adultery, unreasonable-to-live-with behavior, six-month abandonment, 12 months apart by mutual consent, or 24 months apart.","other":"The five proof alternatives are part of the breakdown inquiry. They are not five independently pleaded statutory grounds.","relief":"Yes, judgment of legal separation, § 452.305.2","separation":"No fixed separation where breakdown is undisputed. If disputed and misconduct is not established, the 12- or 24-month alternatives matter. In re Marriage of Uhls, 549 S.W.2d 107, 111–12 (Mo. Ct. App. 1977), permits proof of separate lives within one abode.","timing":"Thirty days must have elapsed since filing under § 452.305.1(1). Effective August 28, 2026, § 452.305.3 states: “Pregnancy status shall not prevent the court from entering a judgment of dissolution of marriage or legal separation.” Section 452.310.2(5) retains the petition's pregnancy disclosure and adds the same restriction. If breakdown is denied under oath, § 452.320.2(2) separately permits continuation for a further hearing thirty days to six months later, or later as the court calendar permits; the statutory breakdown finding is still required at the adjourned hearing."},"sources":[{"label":"Missouri — rsmo 452 305","url":"https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=452.305"},{"label":"Missouri — rsmo 452 320","url":"https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=452.320"},{"label":"HCS H.B. Nos. 1908 & 2337 (2026), truly agreed and finally passed","url":"https://documents.house.mo.gov/billtracking/bills261/hlrbillspdf/5478H.02T.pdf"},{"label":"Mo. Rev. Stat. § 452.310 (effective August 28, 2026 version)","url":"https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=452.310&bid=59919"},{"label":"Mo.Rev.Stat.§452.320 — disputed-breakdown procedure","url":"https://revisor.mo.gov/main/OneSection.aspx?section=452.320"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-MT","name":"Montana","summary":"Irretrievable breakdown supported by serious marital discord or living separate and apart for more than 180 days. On denial, § 40-4-107 permits an evidentiary determination or a 30- to 60-day continuance.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Mont. Code Ann. §§ 40-4-104, 40-4-107","grounds":"Irretrievable breakdown supported by serious marital discord or living separate and apart for more than 180 days. On denial, § 40-4-107 permits an evidentiary determination or a 30- to 60-day continuance.","other":"None (0)","relief":"Yes, decree of legal separation on request unless the other party objects, § 40-4-104(2)","separation":"More than 180 days is an alternative evidentiary route. Serious discord does not require that period.","timing":"No fixed filing-to-decree waiting period is stated in §§ 40-4-104 and 40-4-107. Section 40-4-104(1)(a) separately requires the specified domicile or military presence for 90 days before filing. If breakdown is denied, § 40-4-107(2)(b) permits a further hearing 30 to 60 days later, or as soon thereafter as the court's calendar permits, and suggested counseling."},"sources":[{"label":"Montana — mca 40 4 104","url":"https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0400/chapter_0040/part_0010/section_0040/0400-0040-0010-0040.html"},{"label":"Montana — mca 40 4 107","url":"https://mca.legmt.gov/bills/mca/title_0400/chapter_0040/part_0010/section_0070/0400-0040-0010-0070.html"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-NE","name":"Nebraska","summary":"\"the marriage is irretrievably broken,\" § 42-361","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 42-347(3), 42-361, 42-363","grounds":"\"the marriage is irretrievably broken,\" § 42-361","other":"None (0)","relief":"Yes, defined at § 42-347(7)","separation":"No general separation period identified for the ordinary breakdown route. See the ground and timing conditions.","timing":"60 days after perfected service under § 42-363. Decree finality and appeal effects are separately governed by §§ 42-372 and 42-372.01. The 60-day hearing rule does not describe all post-decree consequences."},"sources":[{"label":"Nebraska — rev stat 42 347","url":"https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=42-347"},{"label":"Nebraska — rev stat 42 361","url":"https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=42-361"},{"label":"Nebraska — rev stat 42 363","url":"https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=42-363"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-NV","name":"Nevada","summary":"\"Incompatibility,\" § 125.010(3). Also one year separate and apart without cohabitation, § 125.010(2)","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Nev. Rev. Stat. § 125.010","grounds":"\"Incompatibility,\" § 125.010(3). Also one year separate and apart without cohabitation, § 125.010(2)","other":"None (0). Insanity existing two years is a status cause, not fault","relief":"Yes, separate maintenance, § 125.190","separation":"One year without cohabitation, discretionary decree. Same-roof not addressed","timing":"None. Decree is final when entered, § 125.130. Generally either party must have six weeks of Nevada residence before commencement; § 125.020(2) excepts cases where the cause accrued in the county while both parties were actually domiciled there."},"sources":[{"label":"Nevada — nrs 125","url":"https://www.leg.state.nv.us/nrs/nrs-125.html"},{"label":"stats 2017 ch167 ab229 excerpt","url":"https://www.leg.state.nv.us/Statutes/79th2017/Stats201705.html"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-NH","name":"New Hampshire","summary":"\"irreconcilable differences which have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage,\" § 458:7-a","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. §§ 458:7, 458:7-a","grounds":"\"irreconcilable differences which have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage,\" § 458:7-a","other":"Impotency, adultery, extreme cruelty, felony conviction with imprisonment, treatment seriously injuring health or endangering reason, two years absence unheard of, habitual alcohol or drug abuse for two years, joining a sect that holds marriage unlawful and refusing to cohabit six months, abandonment and refusal to cohabit two years (9). Paragraphs X to XIII repealed","relief":"Yes, legal separation with the effect of divorce except freedom to remarry, § 458:26","separation":"No general separation period identified for the ordinary breakdown route. See the ground and timing conditions.","timing":"None found in §§ 458:7, 458:7-a, 458:26"},"sources":[{"label":"New Hampshire — rsa 458 26","url":"https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/XLIII/458/458-26.htm"},{"label":"New Hampshire — rsa 458 7 a","url":"https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/XLIII/458/458-7-a.htm"},{"label":"New Hampshire — rsa 458 7 a_gc nh gov","url":"https://gc.nh.gov/rsa/html/XLIII/458/458-7-a.htm"},{"label":"New Hampshire — rsa 458 7","url":"https://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/html/XLIII/458/458-7.htm"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-NJ","name":"New Jersey","summary":"Irreconcilable differences causing breakdown for at least six months, with no reasonable prospect of reconciliation. Alternatively, 18 consecutive months apart in different habitations with no reasonable prospect of reconciliation.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"N.J. Stat. Ann. §§ 2A:34-2, -3. P.L. 2007, c. 6, checked against the official legislative history table and current code reproductions.","grounds":"Irreconcilable differences causing breakdown for at least six months, with no reasonable prospect of reconciliation. Alternatively, 18 consecutive months apart in different habitations with no reasonable prospect of reconciliation.","other":"Seven additional grounds: adultery, 12-month desertion, extreme cruelty, 12-month addiction or habitual drunkenness, 24-month institutionalization for mental illness, 18-month imprisonment, and the statutorily termed deviant sexual conduct without consent. Nine grounds in all, not twelve fault grounds.","relief":"Yes, divorce from bed and board, on joint request, § 2A:34-3","separation":"18 or more consecutive months \"in different habitations.\" Same roof cannot qualify by the statute's own words","timing":"None as such. Cruelty complaint may not be filed until three months after the last act; irreconcilable differences must have existed six months"},"sources":[{"label":"N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:34-2 (Justia)","url":"https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/title-2a/section-2a-34-2/"},{"label":"pl2007 c6","url":"https://pub.njleg.state.nj.us/Bills/2006/PL07/6_.HTM"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-NM","name":"New Mexico","summary":"Incompatibility, defined as discord or conflict of personalities destroying the legitimate ends of the marriage relationship and preventing any reasonable expectation of reconciliation.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"N.M. Stat. Ann. §§ 40-4-1 to -3. Official NMOneSource Chapter 40 PDF.","grounds":"Incompatibility, defined as discord or conflict of personalities destroying the legitimate ends of the marriage relationship and preventing any reasonable expectation of reconciliation.","other":"Cruel and inhuman treatment, adultery, and abandonment.","relief":"Section 40-4-3 permits proceedings concerning property, the disposition of children, and alimony without dissolution when spouses have permanently separated. This is substantive relief without ending the marriage, not an absence of separation remedies.","separation":"none as a ground","timing":"No separate divorce waiting period identified in the grounds provisions (§§ 40-4-1 to -3). Section 40-4-5 separately conditions dissolution jurisdiction on either party having resided in New Mexico for at least six months immediately preceding filing and having a New Mexico domicile (with military provisions). This is a jurisdictional residence and domicile requirement, not a post-filing waiting period."},"sources":[{"label":"New Mexico statutes, chapter 40","url":"https://www.nmonesource.com/nmos/nmsa/en/4375/1/document.do"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-NY","name":"New York","summary":"Irretrievable breakdown for at least six months, asserted under oath by one spouse, with § 170(7) ancillary issues resolved before judgment. Conversion routes now require six months living apart after a qualifying decree or agreement, with the specified compliance and filing requirements.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"N.Y. Dom. Rel. Law §§ 170, 200. 2025 N.Y. Laws ch. 673 and 2026 N.Y. Laws ch. 73.","grounds":"Irretrievable breakdown for at least six months, asserted under oath by one spouse, with § 170(7) ancillary issues resolved before judgment. Conversion routes now require six months living apart after a qualifying decree or agreement, with the specified compliance and filing requirements.","other":"Cruel and inhuman treatment, abandonment for at least one year, imprisonment for three consecutive years after marriage, and adultery.","relief":"Yes, Dom. Rel. Law § 200 (separation from bed and board). For actions commenced on or after February 17, 2026, § 200(6) permits separation based on an irretrievable breakdown for at least six months stated under oath; a judgment requires resolution of applicable, timely and relevant economic issues, which may include the specified support, fees, custody and visitation issues.","separation":"Six months for the conversion routes in covered actions commencing on or after February 17, 2026. The six-month breakdown condition does not itself require separate residences.","timing":"No general filing-to-decree minimum in § 170. Breakdown duration, conversion separation and resolution of ancillary issues are distinct requirements."},"sources":[{"label":"New York Domestic Relations Law §170: Senate displayed code (revision February 27, 2026)","url":"https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/DOM/170"},{"label":"New York S1261A: chapter673 enactment record and bill text","url":"https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S1261/amendment/A"},{"label":"a9753a 2010 ch384 bill page","url":"https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2009/A9753"},{"label":"New York Domestic Relations Law §200: Senate displayed code (revision February 27, 2026)","url":"https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/DOM/200"},{"label":"New York S8798: chapter73 amendment record and bill text","url":"https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2025/S8798"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-NC","name":"North Carolina","summary":"One year living separate and apart under § 50-6. Section 50-5.1 provides a separate three-year separation route involving incurable mental illness and required medical proof.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"G.S. § 50-6, § 50-5.1, § 50-7","grounds":"One year living separate and apart under § 50-6. Section 50-5.1 provides a separate three-year separation route involving incurable mental illness and required medical proof.","other":"Section 50-7 misconduct grounds support divorce from bed and board, not an immediate absolute divorce. They must not be counted as additional absolute-divorce grounds.","relief":"Yes, divorce from bed and board, § 50-7","separation":"One year for § 50-6. The judiciary’s divorce guide requires separate homes and intent by at least one spouse that the separation be permanent. Isolated sexual intercourse does not automatically interrupt separation under the statute.","timing":"For the § 50-6 route, the cited text imposes no additional fixed postfiling delay. One year of separation and six months of state residence are separate prerequisites. Section 50-8 addresses allegations and procedure."},"sources":[{"label":"North Carolina — gs 50 10","url":"https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_50/GS_50-10.html"},{"label":"North Carolina — gs 50 5","url":"https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_50/GS_50-5.1.html"},{"label":"North Carolina — gs 50 6","url":"https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_50/GS_50-6.html"},{"label":"North Carolina — gs 50 7","url":"https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_50/GS_50-7.html"},{"label":"North Carolina — gs 50 8","url":"https://www.ncleg.gov/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_50/GS_50-8.html"},{"label":"s626 2025","url":"https://www.ncleg.gov/Sessions/2025/Bills/Senate/PDF/S626v1.pdf"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-ND","name":"North Dakota","summary":"§ 14-05-03(7) \"Irreconcilable differences,\" defined § 14-05-09.1 as \"substantial reasons for not continuing the marriage\"","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"N.D.C.C. § 14-05-03, § 14-05-09.1","grounds":"§ 14-05-03(7) \"Irreconcilable differences,\" defined § 14-05-09.1 as \"substantial reasons for not continuing the marriage\"","other":"adultery, extreme cruelty, willful desertion, willful neglect, abuse of alcohol or controlled substances, conviction of felony (6)","relief":"Yes, § 14-05-03.1, temporary or permanent separation on any divorce cause","separation":"none as a ground","timing":"No general waiting period found in chapter 14-05. Under § 14-05-17, the plaintiff must have resided in North Dakota in good faith for six months before commencement, or, if not, for the six months immediately before entry of the decree."},"sources":[{"label":"North Dakota — ndcc 14 05","url":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t14c05.pdf"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-OH","name":"Ohio","summary":"§ 3105.01(K) \"Incompatibility, unless denied by either party\", § 3105.01(J) living apart one year","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Ohio Rev. Code §§ 3105.01, .17, .64. Ohio Civ. R. 75(K).","grounds":"§ 3105.01(K) \"Incompatibility, unless denied by either party\", § 3105.01(J) living apart one year","other":"Bigamy, willful absence one year, adultery, extreme cruelty, fraudulent contract, gross neglect of duty, habitual drunkenness, imprisonment of the adverse party in a state or federal correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint, and an out-of-state divorce binding only one spouse (9).","relief":"Yes, legal separation, § 3105.17","separation":"one year \"without interruption,\" \"lived separate and apart without cohabitation,\" (J), one roof not addressed","timing":"Divorce or legal separation: Civ. R. 75(K) ordinarily requires 42 days after service or 28 days after the last publication. A counterclaim generally requires 28 days after service unless waived by the plaintiff. Dissolution has a separate 30- to 90-day hearing window under § 3105.64."},"sources":[{"label":"Calvert decision — Ohio","url":"https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/6/2013/2013-ohio-4421.pdf"},{"label":"Court civil rules","url":"https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/docs/LegalResources/Rules/civil/CivilProcedure.pdf"},{"label":"Lehman decision — Ohio","url":"https://calculators.law/caselaw/decisions/pLVNeY1vNQrJ/lehman-v-lehman"},{"label":"Ohio — rc 3105.01","url":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3105.01"},{"label":"Ohio — rc 3105.17","url":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3105.17"},{"label":"Ohio — rc 3105.61","url":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3105.61"},{"label":"Ohio — rc 3105.64","url":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3105.64"},{"label":"Ohio Rev. Code § 3105.01","url":"https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-3105.01"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-OK","name":"Oklahoma","summary":"§ 101, Seventh: \"Incompatibility\"","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Okla. Stat. tit. 43, §§ 101, 107.1, 129. Okla. Dist. Ct. R. 8, tit. 12, ch. 2 app.","grounds":"§ 101, Seventh: \"Incompatibility\"","other":"abandonment one year, adultery, pregnancy by another at marriage, extreme cruelty, fraudulent contract, habitual drunkenness, gross neglect of duty, imprisonment for felony, out-of-state decree not releasing the other spouse (9), plus two status grounds, impotency and insanity five years (11 non-no-fault grounds in all)","relief":"Yes, \"alimony without divorce,\" § 129, on any divorce cause , § 103 refers to legal separation actions","separation":"none as a ground","timing":"District Court Rule 8 ordinarily requires the petition to be on file 10 days without minor children or 30 days with minor children before a merits hearing, with an emergency exception on application showing good cause. Section 107.1 separately delays a final divorce order for 90 days after filing when minor children are involved; the court may waive that period for good cause without objection by either party. The statute excludes specified causes and permits an earlier final order when the parties voluntarily participate in marital or family counseling and the court finds reconciliation unlikely."},"sources":[{"label":"Oklahoma Senate press release (2025): proposed legislation","url":"https://oksenate.gov/press-releases/deevers-introduces-slate-legislation-restore-moral-sanity-oklahoma"},{"label":"Oklahoma code — os 43","url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os43.pdf"},{"label":"Oklahoma district-court rules collection","url":"https://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/index.asp?ftdb=STOKRUCPDC&level=1"},{"label":"Oklahoma District Court Rule 8","url":"https://www.oscn.net/applications/oscn/DeliverDocument.asp?CiteID=93621"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-OR","name":"Oregon","summary":"Irreconcilable differences causing irremediable breakdown under § 107.025. The additional § 107.015 eligibility conditions must also be included in an inventory of grounds for dissolution.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Or. Rev. Stat. §§ 107.015, .025, .036.","grounds":"Irreconcilable differences causing irremediable breakdown under § 107.025. The additional § 107.015 eligibility conditions must also be included in an inventory of grounds for dissolution.","other":"Section 107.015 expressly permits dissolution OR annulment for lack of age or understanding capacity, or consent obtained by force or fraud, if not subsequently ratified.  Section 107.036 abolishes fault as a basis for dissolution, annulment or separation.","relief":"Yes, § 107.025(2), permanent, unlimited or temporary separation","separation":"none","timing":"The former general 90-day waiting period in ORS 107.065 was repealed by 2011 Or. Laws ch. 114 (HB 2686). Separately, when a petition for conciliation jurisdiction is filed, ORS 107.560(1) generally bars trial or a merits hearing in the parties’ domestic relations suit until 45 days after that filing; the court may waive the period on stipulation or a written motion supported by an affidavit establishing facts warranting waiver (§ 107.560(2))."},"sources":[{"label":"Oregon — cited provision 2011 ch114","url":"https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/lawsstatutes/2011orLaw0114.html"},{"label":"Oregon — ors 107 2001 edition","url":"https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/archive/2001ors107.pdf"},{"label":"Oregon — ors 107","url":"https://www.oregonlegislature.gov/bills_laws/ors/ors107.html"},{"label":"ORS 107.560 (2025), effect of conciliation petition and waiver","url":"https://law.justia.com/codes/oregon/volume-03/chapter-107/section-107-560/"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-PA","name":"Pennsylvania","summary":"Irretrievable breakdown with mutual-consent affidavits after 90 days under § 3301(c), including its presumed-consent provision for specified criminal convictions. Alternatively, breakdown and one year apart under § 3301(d).","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"23 Pa. Cons. Stat. §§ 3103, 3301. Pa. R. Civ. P. 1920.42. Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas, Legal Separation & Divorce Q&A.","grounds":"Irretrievable breakdown with mutual-consent affidavits after 90 days under § 3301(c), including its presumed-consent provision for specified criminal convictions. Alternatively, breakdown and one year apart under § 3301(d).","other":"willful and malicious desertion one year, adultery, cruel and barbarous treatment, bigamy, imprisonment two or more years, indignities (6), plus institutionalization 18 months, § 3301(b), a status ground","relief":"The Lehigh County Law Library guide states that a court does not provide a document establishing legal separation. Support and private agreements are separate matters. A primary authority establishing a broader no-status conclusion was not identified in this limited review.","separation":"One year under § 3301(d). Section 3103 expressly allows separate-and-apart status in the same residence when cohabitation has ceased. Its complaint-service presumption addresses the latest date separation is deemed to have begun.","timing":"Mutual consent: the affidavits must be signed at least 90 days after service of the complaint under Pa. R. Civ. P. 1920.42(a)(1)(ii), although § 3301(c) uses commencement language. The rule also has notice periods and ancillary-claim requirements. Section 3301(d)(2) permits a 90- to 120-day reconciliation continuance."},"sources":[{"label":"Pennsylvania — cited provision 23 pacs ch33 pdf","url":"https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=PDF&ttl=23&div=0&chpt=33"},{"label":"Pennsylvania — cited provision 3103","url":"https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/23/00.031.003.000..HTM"},{"label":"Pennsylvania — cited provision 3301","url":"https://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/LI/CT/HTM/23/00.033.001.000..HTM"},{"label":"separation court guide","url":"https://www.lccpa.org/pathfinder/LegalSeparationOtherDivorceQuestions.pdf"},{"label":"Pennsylvania Rule of Civil Procedure 1920.42","url":"https://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/secure/pacode/data/231/chapter1920/s1920.42.html"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-RI","name":"Rhode Island","summary":"§ 15-5-3.1(a): \"irreconcilable differences which have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage,\" decreed \"irrespective of the fault of either party\"","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 15-5-2, 15-5-3, 15-5-3.1","grounds":"§ 15-5-3.1(a): \"irreconcilable differences which have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage,\" decreed \"irrespective of the fault of either party\"","other":"adultery, extreme cruelty, willful desertion five years (or shorter in court's discretion), continued drunkenness, habitual use of opium, morphine or chloral, husband's neglect to provide necessaries for one year, gross misbehavior and wickedness (7), plus impotency, a status ground","relief":"Yes, divorce from bed and board, § 15-5-9","separation":"three years \"separate and apart,\" \"whether voluntarily or involuntary,\" § 15-5-3, one roof not addressed","timing":"Ordinary decree: three months after trial and decision under § 15-5-23. Divorce on the three-year living-apart ground has a different final-judgment procedure permitting entry 20 days after decision under § 15-5-3. These routes cannot share one universal three-month entry."},"sources":[{"label":"Rhode Island — cited provision 15 5 12","url":"https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE15/15-5/15-5-12.HTM"},{"label":"Rhode Island — cited provision 15 5 2","url":"https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE15/15-5/15-5-2.HTM"},{"label":"Rhode Island — cited provision 15 5 23","url":"https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE15/15-5/15-5-23.HTM"},{"label":"Rhode Island — cited provision § 15-5-3.1","url":"https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE15/15-5/15-5-3.1.HTM"},{"label":"Rhode Island — cited provision 15 5 9","url":"https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE15/15-5/15-5-9.HTM"},{"label":"Rhode Island — cited provision § 15-5-3","url":"https://webserver.rilegislature.gov/Statutes/TITLE15/15-5/15-5-3.HTM"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-SC","name":"South Carolina","summary":"§ 20-3-10(5): \"lived separate and apart without cohabitation for a period of one year\"","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"S.C. Code § 20-3-10, S.C. Const. art. XVII, § 3","grounds":"§ 20-3-10(5): \"lived separate and apart without cohabitation for a period of one year\"","other":"adultery, desertion one year, physical cruelty, habitual drunkenness including narcotic drugs (4)","relief":"Yes, separate support and maintenance, § 20-3-130(B)(5), § 20-3-140. Theisen’s majority affirmed dismissal of a separate-maintenance action while the spouses still lived together. Justice Pleicones, joined by Justice Beatty, concurred in part and dissented in part, disputing the living-apart prerequisite.","separation":"One year apart for no-fault divorce. Theisen v. Theisen, 394 S.C. 434, 716 S.E.2d 271 (2011), discusses the separate-domicile rule for no-fault divorce while deciding a separate-maintenance action. Other fault grounds do not all require separate residences.","timing":"No reference before two months and no final decree before three months after filing under § 20-3-80. When divorce is sought for desertion or one year of separation, the hearing may be held and decree issued after responsive pleadings are filed or the respondent is adjudged in default, whichever occurs sooner."},"sources":[{"label":"South Carolina — cited provision 1995 s73 bill","url":"https://www.scstatehouse.gov/sess111_1995-1996/bills/73.htm"},{"label":"South Carolina — cited provision 20 3","url":"https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t20c003.php"},{"label":"const art 17","url":"https://www.scstatehouse.gov/scconstitution/A17.pdf"},{"label":"Theisen decision — South Carolina","url":"https://www.sccourts.org/media/opinions/HTMLFiles/SC/27041.htm"},{"label":"S.C. Code §20-3-80 and Theisen — scoped timing and separate writing","url":"https://www.scstatehouse.gov/code/t20c003.php"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-SD","name":"South Dakota","summary":"Irreconcilable differences requires both parties’ consent unless one party has not made a general appearance under § 25-4-17.2. It is not an unrestricted contested unilateral route.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"SDCL 25-4-2 , 25-4-17.1, 25-4-17.2","grounds":"Irreconcilable differences requires both parties’ consent unless one party has not made a general appearance under § 25-4-17.2. It is not an unrestricted contested unilateral route.","other":"Adultery, extreme cruelty, willful desertion, willful neglect, habitual intemperance, conviction of felony (6)","relief":"Yes, legal separation 25-4-17.2 and separate maintenance 25-4-40","separation":"No general period of separation substitutes for consent under the irreconcilable-differences provision.","timing":"60 days from completed service, 25-4-34 ; court may continue up to 30 days if reconciliation possible, 25-4-17.2"},"sources":[{"label":"South Dakota — cited provision 25 4 17 1","url":"https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/25-4-17.1.html"},{"label":"South Dakota — cited provision 25 4 17 2","url":"https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/25-4-17.2.html"},{"label":"South Dakota — cited provision 25 4 17 3","url":"https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/25-4-17.3.html"},{"label":"South Dakota — cited provision 25 4 2","url":"https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/25-4-2.html"},{"label":"South Dakota — cited provision 25 4 3","url":"https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/25-4-3.html"},{"label":"South Dakota — cited provision 25 4 33","url":"https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/25-4-33.html"},{"label":"South Dakota — cited provision 25 4 34","url":"https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/25-4-34.html"},{"label":"South Dakota — cited provision 25 4 40","url":"https://sdlegislature.gov/api/Statutes/25-4-40.html"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-TN","name":"Tennessee","summary":"Irreconcilable differences under § 36-4-103 requires adequate provision by written agreement for the specified child and property issues. Section 36-4-101(a)(15) separately allows two years apart in separate residences if there are no minor children. Section 36-4-102(b) also permits conversion after more than two years under legal separation, without reconciliation.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 36-4-101 to -103. Current code reproductions, checked against the legislature’s August 27, 2026 enacted-law abstracts.","grounds":"Irreconcilable differences under § 36-4-103 requires adequate provision by written agreement for the specified child and property issues. Section 36-4-101(a)(15) separately allows two years apart in separate residences if there are no minor children. Section 36-4-102(b) also permits conversion after more than two years under legal separation, without reconciliation.","other":"(a)(1) to (a)(13): impotence, bigamy, adultery, desertion one year, infamous crime, felony with penitentiary sentence, attempt on spouse's life, refusal to move to Tennessee two years, pregnancy by another at marriage, habitual drunkenness or narcotics, cruel and inhuman treatment (inappropriate marital conduct), indignities, abandonment or turning out of doors (13)","relief":"Yes, § 36-4-102","separation":"The ordinary separation ground requires two years in separate residences and no minor children. The separate-decree conversion route has its own conditions and no equivalent minor-child exclusion in § 36-4-102(b).","timing":"Section 36-4-101(b) requires the complaint on file 60 days without an unmarried child under 18, or 90 days with one. Its text applies to divorce grounds generally, not only irreconcilable differences."},"sources":[{"label":"Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-4-101 (Justia)","url":"https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-36/chapter-4/section-36-4-101/"},{"label":"Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-4-102 (Justia)","url":"https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-36/chapter-4/section-36-4-102/"},{"label":"Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-4-103 (Justia)","url":"https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-36/chapter-4/section-36-4-103/"},{"label":"Tennessee Legislature: 2026 abstracts (source file labeled DRAFT)","url":"https://capitol.tn.gov/Archives/Joint/publications/2026%20DRAFT.pdf"},{"label":"Tennessee — cited provision 36 4 101_findlaw","url":"https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-36-domestic-relations/tn-code-sect-36-4-101/"},{"label":"Tennessee — cited provision 36 4 102 103_findlaw","url":"https://codes.findlaw.com/tn/title-36-domestic-relations/tn-code-sect-36-4-102/"},{"label":"memphisdivorce statutes","url":"https://memphisdivorce.com/resources/statutes/general-divorce-statute-36-3-701/"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-TX","name":"Texas","summary":"\"Insupportability,\" § 6.001; living apart three years, § 6.006","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Tex. Fam. Code §§ 6.001 to 6.007 ; § 6.702","grounds":"\"Insupportability,\" § 6.001; living apart three years, § 6.006","other":"Cruelty § 6.002, adultery § 6.003, conviction of felony § 6.004, abandonment one year § 6.005, confinement in mental hospital three years § 6.007 (5)","relief":"No formal legal-separation status. The State Bar of Texas family-law guide confirms this. Temporary orders, support, custody proceedings and agreements are different remedies.","separation":"3 years \"without cohabitation,\" § 6.006; statute silent on one roof","timing":"Ordinarily no divorce before the 60th day after filing (§ 6.702(a)). The waiting period does not apply if the court finds either: (1) the respondent was finally convicted of, or received deferred adjudication for, an offense involving family violence against the petitioner or a member of the petitioner’s household; or (2) the petitioner has an active Title 4 protective order or an active magistrate’s emergency-protection order under Code of Criminal Procedure article 17.292, based on a family-violence finding, against the respondent because of family violence committed during the marriage (§ 6.702(c))."},"sources":[{"label":"Texas Family Code, chapter 6","url":"https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/?tab=1&code=FA&chapter=FA.6&artSec="},{"label":"Texas § 6.702 waiting exceptions — scoped review","url":"https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/FA/htm/FA.6.htm"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-UT","name":"Utah","summary":"\"Irreconcilable differences of the marriage,\" § 81-4-405(1)(h)","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Utah Code § 81-4-405 (formerly § 30-3-1)","grounds":"\"Irreconcilable differences of the marriage,\" § 81-4-405(1)(h)","other":"Impotency, adultery, willful desertion more than one year, willful neglect, habitual drunkenness, felony conviction, cruel treatment (7) ; incurable insanity (1)(i) is a separate non-fault status ground","relief":"Yes, separate maintenance § 81-4-202","separation":"3 consecutive years living separately under a decree of separate maintenance, (1)(j) ; no ordinary living-apart ground","timing":"30 days from filing unless extraordinary circumstances, § 81-4-402(3)(a)"},"sources":[{"label":"Utah — cited provision 81 4 part2","url":"https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title81/Chapter4/C81-4-P2_2024090120240501.pdf"},{"label":"Utah — cited provision 81 4 part4","url":"https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title81/Chapter4/C81-4-P4_2024090120240501.pdf"},{"label":"Utah Code § 81-4-405: source edition identified in URL","url":"https://le.utah.gov/xcode/Title81/Chapter4/C81-4-S405_2024090120240501.pdf"},{"label":"Utah §81-4-405 — labeled 2025 public reproduction","url":"https://law.justia.com/codes/utah/title-81/chapter-4/part-4/section-405/"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-VT","name":"Vermont","summary":"Lived apart \"six consecutive months\" and \"resumption of marital relations is not reasonably probable,\" § 551(7)","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"15 V.S.A. § 551","grounds":"Lived apart \"six consecutive months\" and \"resumption of marital relations is not reasonably probable,\" § 551(7)","other":"Adultery, intolerable severity, willful desertion or seven years' absence, refusal to support (4) ; plus two status grounds: sentence of three years or more and actually confined, permanent mental incapacity (§§ 631 to 637)","relief":"Yes, legal separation \"forever or for a limited time,\" § 555","separation":"Six consecutive months apart with resumption of marital relations not reasonably probable. LeBlanc v. LeBlanc, 2014 VT 65, citing Scott v. Scott, 155 Vt. 465, 468, 586 A.2d 1140 (1990), recognizes that separate lives can occur under one roof.","timing":"A decree nisi ordinarily becomes absolute 90 days after entry; the court may fix an earlier date, and death before expiration makes it absolute immediately before death (§ 554(a)). Section 592(a) ordinarily requires either party’s six months of Vermont residence to file and one year next preceding the final hearing, with specified temporary-absence provisions. Section 592(b)–(c) provides a limited stipulated nonresident procedure for a Vermont marriage neither party’s state recognizes for divorce, with no minor children born or adopted during the marriage and the other statutory conditions; it is not a general residency waiver."},"sources":[{"label":"Vermont — cited provision 15 551","url":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/15/011/00551"},{"label":"Vermont — cited provision 15 554","url":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/15/011/00554"},{"label":"Vermont — cited provision 15 555","url":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/15/011/00555"},{"label":"Vermont — cited provision 15 592","url":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/15/011/00592"},{"label":"Leblanc decision — Vermont","url":"https://www.vtcourts.gov/sites/default/files/documents/LeBlanc%20v%20LeBlanc.pdf"},{"label":"Vermont nisi and residency exceptions — scoped review","url":"https://legislature.vermont.gov/statutes/section/15/011/00592"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-VA","name":"Virginia","summary":"Lived \"separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for one year,\" § 20-91(A)(9)(a)","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Va. Code § 20-91 ; § 20-95","grounds":"Lived \"separate and apart without any cohabitation and without interruption for one year,\" § 20-91(A)(9)(a)","other":"Adultery before the last separation, sodomy or buggery outside marriage, qualifying felony conviction and confinement, and cruelty, reasonable apprehension of bodily hurt, desertion or abandonment under their statutory timing conditions. Current § 20-91 must be read with the 2026 amendments.","relief":"Divorce from bed and board under § 20-95 includes a separate-and-apart ground when at least one party intends to remain separate and apart permanently. No waiting period is required to file under § 20-95; a decree is subject to § 20-91. This does not authorize first-day absolute divorce.","separation":"One year apart, reduced to six months with a separation agreement and no minor children born to both spouses, born to one and adopted by the other, or adopted by both. Bchara v. Bchara, 38 Va. App. 302, 563 S.E.2d 398 (2002), allows a fact-specific finding of separation under one roof. It does not make separate bedrooms alone conclusive.","timing":"None between filing and decree beyond the separation period; § 20-95 says \"No waiting period is required\" to file for bed and board"},"sources":[{"label":"Virginia — cited provision 20 121 02","url":"https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/20-121.02/"},{"label":"Virginia — cited provision 20 91 2026 updates","url":"https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacodeupdates/title20/section20-91/"},{"label":"Virginia — cited provision 20 91","url":"https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/20-91/"},{"label":"Virginia — cited provision 20 95","url":"https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/20-95/"},{"label":"Bchara decision — Virginia","url":"https://www.vacourts.gov/static/opinions/opncavwp/1529014.pdf"},{"label":"2026 Va. Acts ch. 918 (HB 303), enacted text","url":"https://lis.blob.core.windows.net/files/1224606.PDF"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-WA","name":"Washington","summary":"Marriage \"is irretrievably broken\"","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"RCW 26.09.030","grounds":"Marriage \"is irretrievably broken\"","other":"None (0)","relief":"Legal separation in lieu of dissolution under RCW 26.09.030(d), unless the other party objects and petitions for dissolution or a declaration of invalidity.","separation":"No general separation period identified for the ordinary breakdown route. See the ground and timing conditions.","timing":"Ninety days must have elapsed since filing the petition and from service of summons on the respondent or first publication of summons. If breakdown is denied, § 26.09.030 permits referral or a continuance; thereafter, the court enters a dissolution decree if it finds the parties have not reconciled and either continues to allege irretrievable breakdown."},"sources":[{"label":"Washington — rcw 26 09 030","url":"https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=26.09.030"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-WV","name":"West Virginia","summary":"Irreconcilable differences admitted in an answer under §48-5-201. Alternatively, one year of uninterrupted separation in separate places of abode under §48-5-202, resulting from the voluntary act of one party or mutual consent.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"W. Va. Code §§ 48-5-201 to 48-5-209","grounds":"Irreconcilable differences admitted in an answer under § 48-5-201. Alternatively, § 48-5-202(a) permits divorce after one year living separate and apart in separate places of abode, without cohabitation or interruption; the separation may result from the voluntary act of one party or the mutual consent of both parties.","other":"Cruel or inhuman treatment § 203, adultery § 204, felony conviction § 205, habitual drunkenness or drug addiction § 207, desertion six months § 208, abuse or neglect of a child § 209 (6) ; permanent incurable insanity § 206 is a status ground","relief":"Yes, separate maintenance, W. Va. Code § 48-4-101 ; every divorce is absolute, § 48-5-101","separation":"One year in separate places of abode for the separation ground. The consent-based ground is distinct.","timing":"No additional fixed cooling-off period identified in these grounds statutes. Family Court Rule 21(c) ordinarily places final hearing after the time to answer. Its case-management deadlines are not a universal waiting period."},"sources":[{"label":"West Virginia — cited provision 48 4 101","url":"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/48-4-101/"},{"label":"West Virginia — cited provision 48 5 101","url":"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/48-5-101/"},{"label":"West Virginia — cited provision 48 5 105","url":"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/48-5-105/"},{"label":"West Virginia — cited provision 48 5 201","url":"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/48-5-201/"},{"label":"West Virginia — cited provision 48 5 202","url":"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/48-5-202/"},{"label":"West Virginia — cited provision 48 5 203","url":"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/48-5-203/"},{"label":"West Virginia — cited provision 48 5 204","url":"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/48-5-204/"},{"label":"West Virginia — cited provision 48 5 205","url":"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/48-5-205/"},{"label":"West Virginia — cited provision 48 5 206","url":"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/48-5-206/"},{"label":"West Virginia — cited provision 48 5 207","url":"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/48-5-207/"},{"label":"West Virginia — cited provision 48 5 208","url":"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/48-5-208/"},{"label":"West Virginia — cited provision 48 5 209","url":"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/48-5-209/"},{"label":"West Virginia — cited provision 48 5 301","url":"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/48-5-301/"},{"label":"West Virginia — cited provision 48 5 404","url":"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/48-5-404/"},{"label":"West Virginia — cited provision 48 5 501","url":"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/48-5-501/"},{"label":"West Virginia — cited provision 48 5 502","url":"https://code.wvlegislature.gov/48-5-502/"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-WI","name":"Wisconsin","summary":"Irretrievable breakdown. After a hearing or qualifying affidavit under § 767.235(1)(b), the court must find breakdown if both parties state it under oath or affirmation, or if the parties voluntarily lived apart continuously for at least 12 months immediately before commencement and one party has so stated. If that separation period is absent and only one party makes the sworn or affirmed statement, the court must consider all relevant factors. It must find breakdown if there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation; otherwise it must continue the matter for 30 to 60 days, or as soon thereafter as the calendar permits, and may suggest or order counseling. At the adjourned hearing, either party’s sworn or affirmed statement requires a determination whether the marriage is irretrievably broken (§ 767.315(1)).","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Wis. Stat. § 767.315 ; § 767.335","grounds":"Irretrievable breakdown. After a hearing or qualifying affidavit under § 767.235(1)(b), the court must find breakdown if both parties state it under oath or affirmation, or if the parties voluntarily lived apart continuously for at least 12 months immediately before commencement and one party has so stated. If that separation period is absent and only one party makes the sworn or affirmed statement, the court must consider all relevant factors. It must find breakdown if there is no reasonable prospect of reconciliation; otherwise it must continue the matter for 30 to 60 days, or as soon thereafter as the calendar permits, and may suggest or order counseling. At the adjourned hearing, either party’s sworn or affirmed statement requires a determination whether the marriage is irretrievably broken (§ 767.315(1)).","other":"None (0)","relief":"Yes, subject to § 767.35. Legal separation can involve the irretrievable-breakdown finding under § 767.35(1)(b)1. Section 767.315(2) also provides a distinct marital-relationship-is-broken finding when both parties so state under oath or affirmation, after a hearing or qualifying affidavit under § 767.235(1)(b).","separation":"No separation period is required when both parties state irretrievable breakdown under oath or affirmation. If they voluntarily lived apart continuously for at least 12 months immediately before commencement, one party’s sworn or affirmed statement suffices for the finding under § 767.315(1)(a), subject to the hearing or qualifying-affidavit procedure. Section 767.315 does not expressly address living under one roof.","timing":"120 days after service or filing a joint petition under § 767.335, subject to the statutory exception. 2025 Act 40 provides a qualifying affidavit disposition procedure, not a new ground for divorce."},"sources":[{"label":"Wisconsin — cited provision 2025 act 40","url":"https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2025/related/acts/40"},{"label":"Wisconsin — cited provision 767 315","url":"https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/767/IV/315"},{"label":"Wisconsin — cited provision 767 315_history line","url":"https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/document/statutes/767.315"},{"label":"Wis. Stat. §§ 767.315, 767.335 and selected § 767.35 text","url":"https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/statutes/statutes/767/IV/315"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-WY","name":"Wyoming","summary":"\"Irreconcilable differences in the marital relationship,\" § 20-2-104","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Wyo. Stat. § 20-2-104 ; § 20-2-105","grounds":"\"Irreconcilable differences in the marital relationship,\" § 20-2-104","other":"None (0) ; incurable insanity with two years' confinement, § 20-2-105, is a status ground","relief":"Yes, judicial separation § 20-2-106","separation":"No general separation period identified for the ordinary breakdown route. See the ground and timing conditions.","timing":"Decree not entered less than 20 days from filing, § 20-2-108"},"sources":[{"label":"Wyoming Statutes, title 20","url":"https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title20.pdf"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-PR","name":"Puerto Rico","summary":"Judicial divorce may be sought by a joint petition for consent or irreparable breakdown, or an individual petition for irreparable breakdown. Notarial divorce requires both spouses: article 473 addresses consent with applicable agreements; article 474 permits their joint declaration of irreparable breakdown without agreement on every ancillary issue, with court proceedings required for specified unresolved child matters.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"P.R. Civil Code arts. 425, 473–475, Act 55-2020, as amended, including Act 184-2026 (August 14, 2026). Government-hosted OGP compilation revised August 21, 2026.","grounds":"Judicial divorce may be sought by a joint petition for consent or irreparable breakdown, or an individual petition for irreparable breakdown. Notarial divorce requires both spouses: article 473 addresses consent with applicable agreements; article 474 permits their joint declaration of irreparable breakdown without agreement on every ancillary issue, with court proceedings required for specified unresolved child matters.","other":"No retained statutory misconduct list under the 2020 Code.","relief":"The Code’s dissolution provisions distinguish judicial and notarial divorce. They do not create a general legal-separation status.","separation":"No general separation period identified for the ordinary breakdown route. See the ground and timing conditions.","timing":"Article 475 makes notarial dissolution effective on execution of the deed. Article 473 requires at least one spouse to have lived in Puerto Rico during the immediately preceding year; article 474 applies in the situation addressed by article 473. Cases involving the specified incapacity must go to court. Act 184-2026 addresses agreed later modifications of specified child-related stipulations protocolized with a notarial divorce deed; it does not create a new divorce ground."},"sources":[{"label":"Puerto Rico Civil Code 2020: government-hosted OGP Spanish compilation (rev. August 21, 2026)","url":"https://bvirtualogp.pr.gov/ogp/Bvirtual/leyesreferencia/PDF/55-2020.pdf"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-GU","name":"Guam","summary":"\"Irreconcilable differences,\" § 8203(g), defined in § 8219 as \"those grounds which are determined by the Court to be substantial reasons for not continuing the marriage and which make it appear that the marriage should be dissolved\"","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"19 Guam Code Ann. §§ 8203, 8322, 8402. Compiler of Laws, Chapter 8, updated August 11, 2026.","grounds":"\"Irreconcilable differences,\" § 8203(g), defined in § 8219 as \"those grounds which are determined by the Court to be substantial reasons for not continuing the marriage and which make it appear that the marriage should be dissolved\"","other":"6: adultery, extreme cruelty, willful desertion, willful neglect, habitual intemperance, conviction of felony. Desertion, neglect, and intemperance must run one year, § 8218","relief":"Section 8402(a) permits an action for permanent support and maintenance without applying for dissolution when either spouse willfully deserts the other or has a §8203 cause of action. It separately permits a wife’s action when the husband willfully fails to provide for her. Section 8402(b) requires the same community-property and homestead disposition as on dissolution when permanent support and maintenance is granted.","separation":"None (separation is not a ground)","timing":"Under §8322, after six months from filing the initial petition or complaint and entry of an interlocutory decree, the court may enter final judgment on either party’s motion or its own motion. The court may shorten the filing-based period on a party’s application and showing of cause. Section 8321 requires an interlocutory judgment when dissolution is to be granted. Section 8322 also limits final entry while an appeal is pending and bars it if the interlocutory judgment is reversed."},"sources":[{"label":"Guam Code, chapter 8","url":"https://col.guamcourts.gov/sites/default/files/19gc008_0.pdf"},{"label":"pl 24 134","url":"https://archives.guamlegislature.gov/Public%20Laws/Public_Laws_24th/P.L.%2024-134.pdf"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-VI","name":"U.S. Virgin Islands","summary":"Breakdown of the marriage relationship to the extent that the legitimate objects of matrimony have been destroyed and there remains no reasonable likelihood the marriage can be preserved. The same statutory basis permits legal separation.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"V.I. Code Ann. tit. 16, §§ 104, 106, 109. Act No. 3418, § 1 (1973), and the Superior Court’s Virgin Islands Law Component.","grounds":"Breakdown of the marriage relationship to the extent that the legitimate objects of matrimony have been destroyed and there remains no reasonable likelihood the marriage can be preserved. The same statutory basis permits legal separation.","other":"No additional misconduct grounds in § 104.","relief":"Yes, § 104 authorizes \"a decree granting a legal separation\" on the same standard","separation":"No prescribed separation period in § 104.","timing":"The six-week requirement in § 106 is residence, not a post-filing waiting period. Section 109 addresses relief in the decree, including financial and property orders. No separate fixed cooling-off period identified."},"sources":[{"label":"Evans-Freke v. Evans-Freke, 2021 VI 25","url":"https://supreme.vicourts.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_12810860/File/Opinions/Published/2021/Freke%20Opinion-Concurrence.pdf"},{"label":"Virgin Islands Law Component: court reference","url":"https://supreme.vicourts.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_12810860/File/Court%20Rules/Virgin%20Islands%20Law%20Component.pdf"},{"label":"16V.I.C.§§104,106,109 — public title16reproduction","url":"https://usvipublicrecords.com/law/code/title-16"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-MP","name":"Northern Mariana Islands","summary":"Irreconcilable differences under § 1331(g), defined as persistent and irresolvable disagreements resulting in breakdown. Alternatively, two consecutive years apart without cohabitation, with or without mutual consent.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"8 CMC § 1331 (grounds), § 1332 (residency)","grounds":"Irreconcilable differences under § 1331(g), defined as persistent and irresolvable disagreements resulting in breakdown. Alternatively, two consecutive years apart without cohabitation, with or without mutual consent.","other":"6: adultery, cruel treatment, neglect or personal indignities, willful desertion one year, habitual intemperance one year, imprisonment for life or three years or more, willful neglect by the husband to support his wife. Plus insanity of three years, § 1331(f), which is neither fault nor consent. Nine causes total, \"and no other\"","relief":"No separate legal-separation remedy is provided in the four divorce-article sections, §§1331–1334. This statement covers that article only, not every provision, remedy or local custom.","separation":"Two consecutive years without cohabitation, \"whether or not by mutual consent,\" § 1331(h)","timing":"The §1332 residence requirement is ordinarily 90 days immediately before filing. Its seven-day alternative requires both parties’ written consent and the acknowledgment or verification specified in §1332(b)(2). These are residence periods, not post-filing waiting periods. No separate fixed post-filing waiting period is stated in the four divorce-article sections, §§1331–1334."},"sources":[{"label":"Commonwealth Code, title 8, § 1331","url":"https://cnmilaw.gov/docs/cmc_section/T8/1331.pdf"},{"label":"Commonwealth Code, title 8, § 1332","url":"https://cnmilaw.gov/docs/cmc_section/T8/1332.pdf"},{"label":"8 CMC §1333","url":"https://cnmilaw.gov/docs/cmc_section/T8/1333.pdf"},{"label":"8 CMC §1334","url":"https://cnmilaw.gov/docs/cmc_section/T8/1334.pdf"},{"label":"8 CMC §1104","url":"https://cnmilaw.gov/docs/cmc_section/T8/1104.pdf"},{"label":"8 CMC §1105","url":"https://cnmilaw.gov/docs/cmc_section/T8/1105.pdf"}]},{"jurisdiction_id":"US-AS","name":"American Samoa","summary":"Irreconcilable differences, added in 1996 by Public Law 24-11, or voluntary continuous separation for five years. Older annotations saying irreconcilable differences is unavailable predate the amendment.","surveyed_through":"2026-09-08","fields":{"authority":"Am. Samoa Code Ann. §§42.0202, .0204–.0208, reproduced by the American Samoa Bar Association. P.L.24-11 added irreconcilable differences in 1996. The Secretary’s official index lists approval on June 7, 1996; the official scan includes Governor letters dated March 20, 1996 stating that S.B.24-30 was signed into law that day. The act’s printed approval block is blank; the discrepancy and precise effective date remain unresolved.","grounds":"Irreconcilable differences, added in 1996 by Public Law 24-11, or voluntary continuous separation for five years. Older annotations saying irreconcilable differences is unavailable predate the amendment.","other":"4: adultery, habitual cruelty or ill usage, desertion for six months or more, sentence to imprisonment for ten years or more or for life","relief":"Yes, \"a decree of judicial separation\" on the same grounds, §§ 42.0202, 42.0204, 42.0208","separation":"\"voluntary continuous separation for a period of 5 years or more,\" § 42.0202(5)","timing":"No fixed filing-to-decree minimum appears in §§ 42.0204–42.0208. Section 42.0206 requires proof and specifies defenses and exceptions, so availability of the ground is not a promise of automatic judgment."},"sources":[{"label":"Sa’o v. Sa’o (2002)","url":"https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/8514433/sao-v-sao/"},{"label":"Public-law collection and completeness notice","url":"https://www.osas.as/services-2"},{"label":"American Samoa public-law collection: 24th Legislature","url":"https://www.osas.as/copy-of-23rd"},{"label":"P.L.24-11 (S.B.24-30), official scan with Governor letters","url":"https://www.osas.as/_files/ugd/4c56eb_94d0cf95341446e4852fb34e5daf2f49.pdf"}]}]}