When you and your spouse decide to end your Arkansas marriage, you may do so through either a fault or no-fault divorce. If you and your ex have been living apart for at least 18 months and your marriage ended due to the relationship taking a turn, rather than a specific event or factor, a no-fault divorce may be appropriate.
However, if your marriage is ending because of a specific reason, such as infidelity, you may end up moving forward with a fault-based divorce. What fault-based grounds for divorce does Arkansas currently recognize?
Fault-based grounds for divorce criteria
Arkansas recognizes eight specific grounds for a fault-based divorce. However, to pursue this type of divorce, you must be able to show that the grounds for divorce involve something that occurred within state lines and within the past five years.
Fault-based grounds for divorce
As mentioned, adultery is one of the eight fault-based grounds for divorce Arkansas acknowledges. Impotence may also constitute a fault-based grounds for divorce if your spouse has been impotent since you married. If you have experienced humiliation or cruel or inhumane treatment at the hands of your spouse, these, too, may constitute fault-based grounds for divorce. Drunkenness, felony convictions, a lack of support or incurable insanity are the other four elements that may pave the way for an Arkansas fault-based divorce.
In some cases, you may want to divorce your spouse because of something that occurred in a state other than Arkansas. Under these circumstances, you must make sure that the action or event still constitutes grounds for a fault divorce under Arkansas laws.
