You’re unhappy in your marriage, but it may feel difficult to say why. Your spouse isn’t abusive. They’re not suffering from an addiction. As a couple, the two of you have plenty of financial assets. You tend not to get in that many disagreements, let alone serious arguments.
In other words, some of the common reasons that people give for divorce just don’t apply to you. But do you actually need to have a reason to get divorced? Does the court care?
No-fault divorce
You can get a no-fault divorce in California. This means that you’re not blaming your spouse or saying that it is their fault, so you don’t really need much more of a reason. You can just say that the marriage is irrevocably damaged, or that the two of you have your differences and you want to end the marriage. The court is not looking at a list of potential reasons to see if you give one that they consider to be valid.
In fact, having a reason for a divorce often doesn’t change the case at all. The court isn’t going to punish your spouse for infidelity, for instance. There can be ramifications, in some situations. If someone alleges that abuse is the reason for the divorce, for instance, it can impact their spouse’s custody rights if they have children.
But you generally don’t need to have a reason, and no one has to be at fault. This law was enacted in California in 1969 and changed the way that the courts look at divorce forever.
If you’ve decided that it is time to end your marriage and you want to move forward, it’s important to look into the legal steps necessary to begin the divorce process.
