I. General Information about Family Law
II. Marriage
     A. Traditional
     B. Common Law
III. Premarital/Prenuptial Agreement
IV. Divorce
     A. Grounds
     B. Fault or No-Fault
     C. Annulment
     D. Alienation of Affection
V. Alimony, Spousal Support and Maintenance
VI. Division of Property
     A. Community Property
     B. Equitable Distribution
VII. Adoption
     A. Public adoption
     B. Private adoption
     C. Transracial adoption
     D. Intra-national and International adoption
     E. Single parent adoption
     F. Summary of Adoption procedure
VIII. Child Custody and Visitation
IX. Child Support
X. Conclusion

Grounds

The grounds for divorce are set regulations in each state that specify under what circumstances can either party be granted a divorce. A fault divorce is a divorce that takes place on the grounds that one party can be considered at fault. In several states, the couple must live apart for several months before they are granted a divorce.

Following is a brief explanation of a few of the many reasons for one party to be granted a fault divorce.

• Adultery is a consensual sexual relation when one of the participants is legally married to another person. In some states it is still a crime and is grounds for divorce for the spouse of the married adulterer.
• Extreme cruelty is an archaic requirement to show infliction of physical and/or mental abuse by one of the parties to his/her spouse to support a judgment of divorce or an unequal division of the couple’s marital assets. In some states, evidence of cruelty may result in division of property favoring the suffering spouse.
• Infertility is the inability to conceive a child or carry a pregnancy to full term. If infertility of the other party was not discussed prior to marriage, this can be grounds for divorce.
• Abandonment means willfully leaving one’s spouse and/or children, intending not to return, without the abandoned spouse’s consent.

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