| Defenses in Fault-based Divorce: Recrimination |
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| Recrimination is a traditional equitable defense to fault-based divorce actions and is based on the principle that a person seeking justice must come to court with clean hands. It seeks to avoid divorce on the ground that the petitioner has engaged in conduct that would entitle the respondent spouse to a divorce. For example, if a wife files for divorce on the ground of her husband's cruelty and if she herself is guilty of committing cruelty against her husband, then the recrimination defense would act to prevent dissolution on the ground of the husband's cruelty. More... |
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| Defenses in Fault-based Divorce: Mental Illness |
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| Divorce statutes in most states consider several defenses in case of fault-based divorce, such as recrimination, condonation, reconciliation, collusion, and connivance. States traditionally have allowed mental illness as a common law affirmative defense in fault-based divorce actions, particularly against charges of adultery, cruelty, and desertion. Under a typical scenario, the defendant was required to plead the defense and prove that mental illness prevented the defendant from recognizing that the offending act was wrong. In states that allow fault-based divorce and that have detailed statutory schemes governing divorce actions, the general movement has been to limit or eliminate common law divorce defenses such as mental illness. More... |
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| Fault-Based Divorce: Impotence |
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| Impotence of either spouse is considered as one of the traditional fault grounds for divorce, and it remains a ground for fault-based divorce in some states. Some of those states allow grounds for annulment also to be grounds for fault-based divorce, and that includes impotence. In those states, the marriage is voidable if the afflicted spouse is found to have been impotent at the time of marriage and to have remained impotent up to the time the petition is filed. Generally, the petitioning spouse must prove that the impotent spouse is incapable of having sexual intercourse in order to get a divorce on this ground. Some of the states that retain impotence as a ground for divorce require that the impotence be permanent and incurable. In the case of the impotent husband, the advent of drugs to treat erectile dysfunction may affect that standard. More... |
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| Domicile and Residence Issues in Divorce |
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| In order to obtain divorce, domicile and residence are important factors. One party must be resident and domiciled in the state where the divorce is sought. In order for the court to obtain jurisdiction, the requirements are "actual residence" and legal domicile. Jurisdiction is determined at the time the divorce petition is filed. More... |
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| Alimony: Rehabilitative Spousal Support |
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| Alimony awards, also called "spousal support," are usually granted at the court's discretion upon a determination, which takes into account certain factors, that spousal maintenance is necessary. Some of the factors considered when determining alimony payments include the education of the spouses, their respective work experiences, income histories, ages, health, the length of the marriage, and the time either spouse has spent out of the work force. Alimony may be either temporary (often called "rehabilitative alimony") or permanent. The court grants rehabilitative spousal support when one spouse has been disadvantaged in order to equalize the burden of the divorce. More... |
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