Adultery, insanity, collusion, cruelty, abandonment: In California, most of these circumstances relate more to the plot of a soap opera than to a divorce. While any one of these could have actually motivated the divorce, a California judgment of dissolution (divorce) will be based only on either irreconcilable differences or (less likely) incurable insanity. That’s because since 1970, California was the first state to implement the no-fault divorce. Since then, many other states have followed suit, while others allow both fault and no fault divorces. With a no fault divorce, the court can terminate the marriage without proving fault. Compare this to a fault based divorce, where the termination will be granted only if you give and prove grounds for divorce within those reasons allowed by state law, or defend against these claims if you’re responding to a spouse’s petition for the divorce. In a fault based divorce, the conduct of the spouse who’s found to be “at fault” may even be considered when deciding issues such as property division. As of now, New York is the last state in the nation that doesn’t have a no fault ground for divorce. (more…)
Archive for the ‘Legal Separation’ Category
Who’s to Blame in a Divorce, and Does it Matter Under California Divorce Law?
Friday, January 8th, 2010
In Between Marriage and Divorce: What’s Legal Separation in California and is it Right for You?
Friday, August 7th, 2009You’ve probably heard the term “legal separation” often, and you may be unsure of what it really means under California law. As reported by People, Sean Penn filed for divorce from his wife Robin Wright Penn in 2007, dismissed the divorce a few months later, and later filed for legal separation in April 2009, only to dismiss this petition the following month. While this is described as the second time that Penn calls off his divorce, legal separation is not divorce, because a legal separation doesn’t legally end a marriage. So what does it do? (more…)
