Matrimonial Breakdown Divorce Grounds and Jurisdiction for Dissolving a Marriage October 18 2012 Reasons to allow a divorce Adultery Crime felony Abuse cruelty Abandonment Fault Based Divorce was alleged against Fault Grounds for Divorce Before granting a divorce based on fault grounds the courts required Corroboration Prove there was a fault included pictures witnesses account Innocent Party No defense be respondent that mitigated or equalized the fault of the other party whom fault Each state s laws list the grounds for divorce 1 Adultery Proof does not require a witness to the actual sexual deed but only to the opportunity to commit the act because the party had the disposition to cheat Example wife becomes pregnant when her solider is overseas 2 Cruelty Requires severe conduct hard to define Some states require more than emotional suffering physical harm Brady v Brady STAPP NY 1985 Is the duration of the marriage a significant factor to be considered in determining whether conduct is cruel inhuman to grant divorce With longer marriage there needs to be more evidence A woman is cruel and abuses husband They wanted to protect the wife as they still saw that the husband was supposed to be there to provide for her It s harder to prove cruelty and find ground for divorce 3 Desertion Abandonment Spouse has been absent for the required time whilst the other spouse wanted him her to return Both action intent invalid Elements Leave with intent not to resume marital cohabitation without consent of spouse without justification for a specific period voluntary separation by 1 spouse from another Sinha v Sinha man comes to US to study and leaves his wife in India He files for divorce in PA which says you only need to be separated for 3 years to file for divorce Court says no he cannot leave his wife because when he left India 3 5 years ago he had no intention of leaving his wife Constructive Desertion Situation in which one spouse makes life of the other spouse so intolerable that the other spouse is forced to leave the home Doesn t apply in MD Defenses to Fault grounds 1 Recrimination The spouse who sued for divorce committed an equally egregious offense both parties to marriage are at fault 2 Connivance Where one party causes the other party to commit marital fault offense Encourage your wife to hang out with a coworker so she s at fault 3 Collusion Where there is an agreement between the spouses and or their lawyers that one spouse won t defend against the fault based claim in order to obtain the divorce The court finds out that there s been an agreement between the spouses or lawyers 4 Condonation Resumption continuation of marital cohabitation after discovery of the fault based act so as to imply forgiveness by the spouse Once you become aware of the behavior and forgive them have sex you can no longer use their fault for divorce Insanity can either prevent a divorce the fault required for divorce for cruelty adultery is negated when the actions were induced by party s mental condition Or be a ground for divorce No fault Divorce Requires Different names different definitions irretrievable breakdown irreconcilable differences Show that you re unhappy in the marriage and cannot work it out together state of CA says that s enough Separation Period May be a 1 year separation if you have kids and a 5 year separation if you don t have kids Estoppel court s equity doctrine to decide otherwise is unfair lacks clean hands Kazin v Kazin SCT NJ 1979 Issue Should a husband get to claim a voidable marriage when his wife s prior divorce was invalid but he helped her get it Fact M W validly married in US and later wife went to Mexico and sought a divorce from her first husband with the assistance of her now husband of 7 years Wife wants a divorce and alimony Husband 2 argues marriage null and void because prior marriage was still in effect since Mexican divorce was not valid Holding No In modern divorces equitable principles are emphasized estoppel prevents him from attacking a divorce that he had a role in obtaining Jurisdiction Full Force Credit To file for divorce must first establish the jurisdiction file in the correct court If proper court then that divorce is valid in every other state Full Force credit Divorce Abroad Comity is a foreign divorce valid in the U S Husband D vs Wife D They were alcoholics man worked outside home woman did not He petitions for divorce due to her habitual intoxication Says that it s so devastating to the relationship and he cannot reason to her But HE is the one who provides the alcohol Recrimination they are both drunks Connivance he is providing the alcohol Condonation he knew she was a drunk before marriage and after marriage continued to sleep with here Husband W vs Wife W 1972 DE Violent actions between the two of them She poisoned his food stabbed him he hit her with a chair kicked her threatened her In a fault based ground for divorce they couldn t get a divorce because they were both wrong In a no fault divorce they ve both done stuff and they don t want to get back together Lower court denies their divorce because they don t see reconciliation DE Supreme Court allows them to separate based on a no fault divorce 2 Types of Systems for Splitting Property 1 Community Property Minority of states have this system in place There s a 50 50 split and economic partnership All the property accumulated during marriage is then split equally It doesn t matter who bought it or whose name is on the title if it was bought during our marriage we split it 2 Equitable distribution common law Majority of states including Maryland We decide that we divide assets FAIRLY not equally The court chooses what s fair Basis was how the women used to stay at home Different Types of Property Martial property split 50 50 What is an asset Separate Property property you had before the marriage that you inherited or was a gift just to you Your business house bank accounts Does an asset include debt Hardy v Hardy courts should look at credit card debts as an asset a negative one Man runs up his credit card bill both man and women work His specific credit card he s responsible for The shared debt would be split Issues in determining Assets Period of acquisition Co habitation post separation included How to divide the property Equitable Distribution Common Law Equitably fairly Not 50 50 or equal May include fault Alimony Sustenance Rule if one party needs it and then other can afford it