A Brief History of The No-Fault Divorce

It was reported in the news last month that a woman in the United Kingdom was denied a request for a divorce.  Tini and Hugh Owens had apparently been married for 40 years.  Mrs. Owens pursued the divorce, claiming that her marriage was “loveless and has broken down.”  Mr. Owens refused to agree to a divorce, alleging instead that it was Mrs. Owens who had an affair.  Five justices on the Supreme Court agreed with him and denied the divorce, meaning Mr. and Mrs. Owens continue to be married. Whereas England and Wales apparently still employ a fault-based divorce system, meaning that there must be a reason for the divorce and that allegation must be proven, every state in the United States allows for some form of a no-fault divorce, simply by one party (or both, if they agree) acknowledging that the marriage is irretrievably broken.  According to this article by Time, around the 1800s, divorces were granted only if a party could prove…

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