Do I need a Legal Reason to Get Divorced?

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In fact, there’s still movies and TV shows out there where you see one of the characters pound on the table and say:
“I want a divorce”, and then you hear the other spouse respond: “well, I’m not giving it to you”.
There was a time when you had to prove some kind of legal justification especially if the other spouse refused or did not agree to the divorce in any way.
You had to prove that the other spouse had engaged in some kind of an extramarital affair, or some type of abandonment or desertion, impotence, some kind of fraud or abuse.
Fortunately, as of 1976, Florida became what’s known in the divorce world as:
a “no fault state” for divorce purposes.
That means that in order to get a legal divorce nowadays all that is required is for one party to declare, not even prove, just declare that the marriage is irretrievably broken in that spouse’s opinion.
So, how do you declare that the marriage is irretrievably broken as required by Florida law?
All you have to do is make sure that your legal paperwork states just that, that the marriage is irretrievably broken.
That’s all you have to say.
You don’t even have to prove it.
Even if the other spouse disagrees.
So, that means that a spouse can basically get a divorce for just about any reason, and there’s usually nothing the other spouse can do to stop you.
I hope this short video has provided you some guidance over the legal justification for adivorce nowadays in Florida.
Thank you again for joining me today.
And as always, stay informed so you can stay strong.

Hello and welcome to 60 Seconds with Sergio.
I am your host, Sergio Cabanas, Attorney-at-Law here in Florida.
Thank you for joining me today.
Today’s question is: “Sergio, do I really need to prove a legal reason to get a divorce in the state of Florida?
Well, this is a common question because there’s still many states within the United States and, in fact, in many countries around the world, that require one spouse to establish some kind of a legal reason or some kind of a legal justification to obtain a legal divorce.
In fact, there’s still movies and TV shows out there where you see one of the characters pound on the table and say:
“I want a divorce”, and then you hear the other spouse respond: “well, I’m not giving it to you”.
There was a time when you had to prove some kind of legal justification especially if the other spouse refused or did not agree to the divorce in any way.
You had to prove that the other spouse had engaged in some kind of an extramarital affair, or some type of abandonment or desertion, impotence, some kind of fraud or abuse.
Fortunately, as of 1976, Florida became what’s known in the divorce world as:
a “no fault state” for divorce purposes.
That means that in order to get a legal divorce nowadays all that is required is for one party to declare, not even prove, just declare that the marriage is irretrievably broken in that spouse’s opinion.
So, how do you declare that the marriage is irretrievably broken as required by Florida law?
All you have to do is make sure that your legal paperwork states just that, that the marriage is irretrievably broken.
That’s all you have to say.
You don’t even have to prove it.
Even if the other spouse disagrees.
So, that means that a spouse can basically get a divorce for just about any reason, and there’s usually nothing the other spouse can do to stop you.
I hope this short video has provided you some guidance over the legal justification for adivorce nowadays in Florida.
Thank you again for joining me today.
And as always, stay informed so you can stay strong.