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

Fault or No-Fault

A fault divorce traditionally requires one spouse to prove that the other spouse was legally at fault to obtain a divorce. The “innocent” spouse is then granted a divorce from the “guilty” spouse. Today, many states still allow a spouse to allege fault in obtaining a divorce. The traditional fault grounds for divorce are adultery, abandonment (desertion), cruelty, imprisonment, physical incapacity and incurable insanity. Some courts consider fault in determining the amount of spousal support.

A no-fault divorce is a divorce in which the dissolution of a marriage does not require fault of either party to be shown. Either party may request, and receive, the dissolution of the marriage, despite the objection of the other party.

The following list of states allows no-fault divorce as the sole grounds for divorce:

The following list of states indicates those that have added no-fault to traditional divorce:

The following list represents states that consider incompatibility as grounds for divorce:

Many states have a “waiting period” before a couple can file for divorce. This is to enable them to possibly reconcile. The following list shows the prerequisite for couples residing apart and filing for divorce:

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