Many married couples throughout New Jersey experience bumps and challenges in their relationships that can test the commitment of the partners to their shared martial experience. While in most cases partners can work through their differences and emerge from their conflicts with strong martial bonds, in some cases the bases of their disputes are so egregious that divorce becomes a necessary part of their relationship conversations. In fact, under New Jersey law, certain grounds of fault may be used to end marriages through divorce when martial partners cannot continue their legal relationships.
For example, adultery may be used as a basis for bringing a marriage to its end. Similarly, a marital partner may file for divorce from their spouse based on that individual’s desertion of the filing party. To use desertion as a basis for divorce, the desertion must be ongoing and must last for at least 12 months.
Other possible fault grounds that individuals may use to end their marriages include but are not limited to: drunkenness or addiction; imprisonment; institutionalization for mental illness; and deviant sexual conduct. All of these fault-based grounds for divorce must be supported with evidence in order to successfully end a marriage and, as such, it is important that our readers who may use fault as their bases for divorce discuss their plans with family law attorneys who understand their particular cases.
New Jersey law also recognizes a no-fault option for divorce and for some couples this alternative may provide a more comfortable path to ending their marriages. To learn more about the means of filing for divorce, readers are encouraged to build relationships with trusted divorce attorneys.