No Fault Divorce Law

No-fault divorce laws allow couples to split on the basis of irreconcilable differences - without going to trial and without the requirement of establishing fault. Many advocates say it is a fairer way of ending dysfunctional marriages than the fault-based system, which often involves lengthy, expensive legal battles.

"No-fault" divorce was started in the United States by the state of California with the passage of the Family Law Act of 1969. The Act was signed by Governor Ronald Reagan on September 4 , 1969 , and it took effect on January 1 , 1970 . It abolished the old common law action for divorce and replaced it with the proceeding for dissolution of marriage on the grounds of "irreconciliable differences."

By late 1983 , every state but South Dakota had adopted some form of no-fault divorce (although some forms were not as easy to obtain as that in California) . South Dakota finally adopted no-fault divorce in 1985. Somewhat surprisingly (given its reputation as a fairly liberal state politically) the state in which it is hardest to obtain a "no-fault" divorce is New York . To obtain a "no-fault" divorce in that state, both the husband and wife have to sign and notarize a separation agreement for the judge and be separated for a year before no-fault divorce proceedings can ensue.