Grounds for Divorce in New Jersey
Posted October 31st, 2013 by Anthony Carbone, PC.
Categories: Family Law.
Divorce can happen to any relationship, whether you have been married for only six months or for 20 years. To you, your divorce might be as simple as you can’t stand living with the same person anymore. But according to New Jersey law, it’s not that simple. In order to get a divorce, you must choose an acceptable legal reason as to why you and your spouse should break up.
There are seven different “fault” grounds for divorce:
1. Extreme cruelty – One spouse suffers emotional or physical abuse from the other, making it unable for the couple to continue living together
2. Adultery – When one spouse begins an intimate relationship with another partner.
3. Desertion – The spouse has left the other party for a period of 12 or more months
4. Addiction – One spouse is voluntarily addicted to a narcotic drug
5. Institutionalization – One spouse has been institutionalized for a mental illness for 24 or more months after the marriage
6. Imprisonment – One spouse has been sent to prison for a period of 18 or more months after the marriage
7. Deviant sexual conduct – One spouse has been engaging in deviant sexual conduct without the consent of the other party.
There are also “no-fault” grounds for divorce. This is when the couple has been separated for at least 18 months and there is no chance of a reconciliation. Or the marriage has broken down for six or more months because of irreconcilable differences.
Thinking about getting a divorce? Let us help you! Contact us today for a free consultation and we’ll take care of the rest.
