People in Minnesota may start considering divorce for an assortment of different reasons. In some cases, their relationship with their spouse may have become strained as they have grown apart over the years. Other times, substance abuse or poor money management may leave people feeling like their marriage is not beneficial anymore.
Those going through a difficult time in their marriages sometimes wonder whether they have a legal justification to initiate divorce proceedings. People need to have circumstances that meet the legal grounds for divorce.
The laws establishing the legal grounds for divorce are slightly different in every state. What do spouses have to prove to petition the family courts for divorce in Minnesota?
Minnesota only allows no-fault filings
In some states, people can file for divorce based on unusual marital circumstances and specific types of misconduct. People with proof of domestic violence, for example, could potentially divorce based on grounds of cruelty. They can pursue a fault-based divorce that ends with the courts affirming that one party was responsible for the breakdown of the marital relationship. There can be psychological and social benefits to a fault-based divorce.
However, fault-based divorce grounds are not necessary in Minnesota. In fact, the courts do not recognize divorces based on fault. The only grounds for divorce recognized in Minnesota is an irretrievable breakdown of the marital relationship.
One spouse asserts that the marriage is no longer functional because of the relationship between the spouses and that there is no reasonable expectation of reconciliation. It is generally not possible to prove how the spouses feel about one another, so no evidence is required to pursue a no-fault divorce.
A spouse simply needs to assert under oath that the circumstances of the marriage meet the necessary standard. No-fault divorces are generally faster because spouses don’t have to fight over blame. They need to divide parental rights and responsibilities and find ways to split up their property. Even if spouses litigate, judges generally don’t consider marital misconduct when making decisions about the terms of a no-fault divorce.
Knowing how Minnesota handles divorce filings can help people plan the best path forward. No-fault divorce statutes make marital dissolution accessible to people regardless of their circumstances.