Divorce and separation are governed by state law. The legislature has established the following grounds for divorce or separation:
- Adultery
- The confinement of either party in prison for three years or more. The party must actually be confined at the time the divorce action is brought.
- Intolerable severity. Intolerable severity is supported by misconduct persisted in by one party to an extent that causes or threatens to cause injury to life, limb or health of the other party. Injury can be indirectly caused by grief, worry or mental distress caused by the party's misconduct.
- Willful desertion, or when either party has been absent for seven years and not heard from during that time.
- Persistent refusal or neglect, without cause, of spouse having monetary and physical means to provide suitable maintenance to the other.
- Incurable insanity.
- The parties have lived apart for six consecutive months and the Court finds that the resumption of marital relations is not reasonably probable.
Whichever ground a party relies on, it must be proven. Unless both parties consent to the divorce, there may at some point be a trial where the Court will hear testimony about the allegations which must be proven to the satisfaction of the Court. The exact type and amount of evidence necessary to prove a certain ground are established by prior cases.
