Tag: No-Fault Divorce Law

According to the latest Gallup poll, 73 percent of U.S. adults say that divorce is “morally acceptable”; an all-time high, even as the national divorce rate has been on the decline. Since 2001, the public has consistently viewed divorce as morally acceptable, more and more each year. In the decades prior, however, the concept of divorce generated a fair amount of discord in public polling.

Specifically, by mid-1968, before most states adopted no-fault divorce laws, 60 percent of Americans indicated that they wanted the government to make divorce “more difficult.” However, as laws changed during the 20^th century, divorce became more and more familiar to most Americans, allowing it to become more morally acceptable, even as the divorce rate itself continued to decline. 

Moral Acceptability of Divorce in U.S. Hits New High amongst Married and/or Older Adults

Historically, divorce was always more acceptable amongst unmarried adults. However, over the last seven years, married individuals became about equal in this endeavor in accepting divorce as morally acceptable, indicating that attitudes are changing amongst married adults. Even the one major subgroup that has historically remained the most opposed to divorce—“very religious Americans”—is now, for the first time in history, reflecting that a majority of its members find divorce to be morally acceptable.

Although the state of Florida has abolished the concept of fault when individuals file for divorce, that doesn’t make the process of obtaining a divorce any simpler, nor does it completely eliminate the impact that an individual’s behavior during marriage has when it comes to important decisions that come out of divorce, such as property distribution, alimony, timesharing, and related issues.

In addition, many would be surprised to find out that adultery (or, rather, “living in open adultery”) is still considered to be a crime in the state of Florida, thus, it’s fair to say that behavior during marriage–regardless of what’s listed in state statute as technical grounds for dissolution–can have its effects.

The No-Fault Divorce Law in Florida

Florida being a no-fault divorce state, which means parties can dissolve their marriage by indicating that the marriage is “irretrievably broken.” When either spouse files, they must simply prove that they have been married and at least one has been a Florida resident for at least six months immediately preceding the filing date.