GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE
What are the grounds for divorce? Wait, you may have heard that Ohio is a no-fault state. Ohio does have no fault-grounds, but you still have to prove grounds if you want a divorce and your spouse does not. If your spouse does not want the divorce, they may be able to stop you.
Ohio Revised Code 3105.01 (R.C. 3105.01) and Ohio Revised Code 3105.17 (R.C. 3105.17) set forth the grounds for divorce.
The grounds are:
- Either party had a husband or wife living at the time of the marriage from which the divorce is sought
- Willful absence of the adverse party for one year
- Adultery
- Extreme cruelty
- Fraudulent contract
- Any gross neglect of duty
- Habitual drunkenness
- Imprisonment of the adverse party in a state or federal correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint
- Procurement of a divorce outside this state, by a husband or wife, by virtue of which the party who procured it is released from the obligations of the marriage, while those obligations remain binding upon the other party.
- When husband and wife have, without interruption for one year, lived separate and apart without cohabitation
- Incompatibility, unless denied by either party
Incompatibility, which would be easy to prove, cannot be proven. It can only be agreed upon by the parties. The other grounds are either rare when the other side is contesting grounds, or will take some degree of effort to prove. For example, it would be rare for divorce to be contested if the parties lived separate and apart for one year. One does have to wait a full year to use this ground for divorce.
If you are looking for a Medina Divorce Attorney, Attorney Gigiano is located in Wadsworth, Ohio, where he regularly practices family law in Medina, Summit and Wayne County. If you have questions about this or other questions you need answered by an experienced divorce attorney or legal custody attorney, please call Attorney Daniel F. Gigiano at 330-336- 3330.