Can my spouse file for divorce citing irreconcilable differences and an absence of affection?
03/05/2009 - Divorce - State: SC #15449
Full Question:
I have been married about a year and a half. My spouse has failed to support me in regards to my step children. My spouse has stopped sharing a bed with me and does not speak to me any longer. I suggested family and marital counseling but my spouse isn't interested. We have sought religious counseling through our Pastor in which my spouse's behavior either not changed or worsened (my spouse stops speaking to me for weeks at a time). In fact my spouse has threatened to divorce me citing irreconcilable differences and an absence of affection. Can my spouse do this even when I don't want a divorce?
Answer:
There are two types of divorce-- fault and no-fault. A fault divorce, is a judicial termination of a marriage based on marital misconduct or other statutory cause requiring proof in a court of law by the divorcing party that the divorcee had done one of several enumerated things as sufficient grounds for the divorce. Some jurisdictions authorize no-fault divorces, based on incompatibility, such as irreconcilable differences. The consequences of no-fault divorces vary from state to state. No-fault divorce eliminates this potentially embarrassing and adversarial requirement of stating others grounds by providing for the dissolution of a marriage on a finding that the relationship is no longer viable. Some states still require at least a minimal showing of fault, but no-fault divorce is now the rule in which "incompatibility" is sufficient to grant a divorce.
South Carolina law permits no-fault divorces based upon living separate and apart without cohabitation for at least one year. Additional grounds include; adultery, desertion, physical cruelty and addiction to drugs or alcohol. It is not necessary for both spouses to consent to filing a divorce petition. A divorce petition may be filed by only one spouse, and if the other spouse doesn't file an answer to the divorce complaint, it is still possible to be granted a default divorce decree.
The following is a SC statute:
§ 20-3-10. Grounds for divorce.
No divorce from the bonds of matrimony shall be granted except upon one or more of the following grounds, to wit:
(1) Adultery;
(2) Desertion for a period of one year;
(3) Physical cruelty;
(4) Habitual drunkenness; provided, that this ground shall be construed to include habitual drunkenness caused by the use of any narcotic drug; or
(5) On the application of either party if and when the husband and wife have lived separate and apart without cohabitation for a period of one year. A plea of res judicata or of recrimination with respect to any other provision of this section shall not be a bar to either party obtaining a divorce on this ground.
Please see the information at the following links:
http://lawdigest.uslegal.com/divorce/state-faq/7012/
http://lawdigest.uslegal.com/divorce/state-law-summary/6928/
http://definitions.uslegal.com/i/irreconcilable-differences/
http://definitions.uslegal.com/c/contested-and-uncontested-divorce/
http://definitions.uslegal.com/d/default/
http://definitions.uslegal.com/f/fault-and-no-fault-divorces/
http://lawdigest.uslegal.com/family-laws/divorce,-separation-and-annulment-overview/
Please see the forms at the following link:
http://www.uslegalforms.com/divorce/south-carolina-divorce-forms.htm
03/05/2009 - Category: Divorce - State: SC #15449
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