I live in a state that makes it hard to get a divorce by requiring serious fault. What can I do?

If you want to get a divorce from your spouse, but you live in a state where no-fault divorce does not exist, you may have trouble ending your marriage. You have two main options if you find yourself in this situation. The first is to establish residence in a state that allows for a quick and easy no-fault divorce. The second is to commit a fault in your own state.

How can I establish residency in a state that allows no-fault divorce?

The first option involves establishing residency in a state that allows for a quick no-fault divorce. One such state would be Nevada, which generally makes it easy to establish residency and get a divorce. To get a no-fault divorce in Nevada you must do the following:

• Establish residency. This means at least one of the two spouses getting divorced has to live in Nevada for at least 6 weeks, and a witness over the age of 18 has to attest to that fact.
• An uncontested no-fault divorce can be completed within days once residency has been established. If you want the divorce within a few days of filing, you'll need to have your settlement in place, which means you'll need to know how assets and child custody are going to be divided. Once these are established, you’ll need to have the court sign off on your settlement in order to finalize the divorce.

Are there other states with permissive no-fault divorce laws? 

There are a few other states that also have very permissive divorce laws as well. Make sure you check the laws of your state and confirm that they will recognize the out-of-state divorce decree before you spend your time going through the process. Most states will, under Full Faith and Credit rules in the Constitution.

Please explain the second option, by which I commit a fault in my own state.

If you can't leave your state to establish residency for an out-of-state divorce, your only other option would be to create a reason for a fault divorce. Fault divorce usually involves some serious offense on the part of one party in the marriage. The offense may involve adultery, imprisonment, mental incapacity or incarceration into a mental institution, cruelty, or abandonment of the marriage by one party, so creating "fault" is not necessarily a good idea.

If you do decide to try to establish grounds for a fault divorce, the easiest "fault" to commit would likely be abandonment or desertion. This would involve you moving out and have no contact with your spouse for the prescribed period of time required by law. At this point, your spouse would legally have grounds to divorce you on the fault basis. Keep in mind that in many states committing a fault would be likely to influence the court's ruling regarding division of property in the divorce, child custody determinations, and could have other consequences as well. Make sure you consult with an attorney regarding your options and the possible consequences before taking any action.

Should I get help?

Neither of these options is ideal, so before you choose either one it is important to get the guidance and advice of a lawyer who specializes in family law.