If you are in an unhappy and unfulfilling marriage, you may wonder if you have reason to file for divorce. You may think that your situation isn’t bad enough to justify divorce or that you won’t have proof of anything your spouse has done to show the courts.
When you understand the laws about divorce in Tennessee, you will feel more confident about moving on with your life.
Tennessee allows no-fault and fault-based divorces
You don’t have to prove that your spouse did something wrong to get a divorce. Still, there are those who want the vindication of holding their spouse accountable for the end of the marriage.
There are more grounds for divorce available in Tennessee than in many other states. The grounds for divorce in Tennessee are:
- impotency/infertility
- bigamy
- adultery
- willful desertion lasting at least a year
- committing an infamous crime or a felony
- attempting to poison or murder a spouse
- addiction or alcoholism
- suffering intolerable indignities
- abandonment
- long-term (two years or more) separation
- irreconcilable differences
Those who claim irreconcilable differences can file for a no-fault divorce, which is often faster than a divorce that requires you to prove some kind of misconduct occurred.
Choosing your grounds is only the first step
When you file for divorce, you will need to make disclosures to the courts about your property and suggestions regarding the division of your assets and any custody sharing arrangements you may need to make.
After you serve your spouse with those papers, their response will dictate what happens next. In a fault-based divorce, you may have to prepare for their attempt to defend against the divorce.
Learning about acceptable reasons to file for divorce can help you decide if divorce is the right decision in your scenario.
