California No Fault Divorce

California was the first state in the United States to adopt a no fault divorce. This took place on 5th September 1969, when the Family Law Act was signed by Governor Ronald Reagan. 6 months later, Iowa also introduced the no fault law. Till 1971, Oregon, Michigan, Florida and Colorado also showed a green signal to this law and within duration of 15 years, the entire nation embraced it.

Residency requirements of California No Fault Divorce

Prior to the filing date in this state, one or both of the divorcing partners must be staying in this state for the previous 180 days or 6 months.

Advantages of California No Fault Divorce

• The divorcing partners need not invest their precious money and time to hire detectives for offering an evidence regarding the grounds of divorce
• As there is no need of any litigation related to grounds of divorce, several days or weeks of the lawsuit are saved
• The divorcing couple can directly focus on vital issues like distribution of marital assets, maintenance, child support and custody

Effect of no fault divorce law

Some people state that after the no fault divorce law was accepted in California and elsewhere, there was an increase in the number of divorces. If the statistics of 1960 and 1980 are compared, it is found that the rate of divorce has increased by 250 percent. In 1960, 16 percent of the first marriages failed, while in 1980, 40 percent of the first marriages failed. The current scenario is that 50 percent of the marriages terminate in a divorce. 60 percent of all divorces involve minor children.

Marriage vows have lost their significance as just irreconcilable differences are regarded as sufficiently robust for obtaining divorce.

Such unilateral divorces have certainly affected the women in the society. They have to face economical losses and the burden of child care. Some people are of the opinion that in such sort of divorces, women are not provided adequate child support and spousal care.

The summer 1996 issue of the Public Interest Journal has an article titled “Divorce American Style” by William A. Galston. He argues that men searching for an easy route out of long-term marriages take benefit of no fault divorce system.

Spousal Support

A Judge in the Family Court in this state considers the following factors before taking a decision regarding spousal support.

• Contribution of each divorcing partner towards the marriage. This may be in the form of investments, homemaking, regular employment etc
• The requirement of the custodial parent to remain at home along with the children
• Economical obligations to prior families
• The Health condition of each party
• Marketable skills that each divorcing partner possesses or has the capacity to acquire
• The standard of living enjoyed in marital life
• The ages of the divorcing couple
• The duration of marriage

Divorce Papers