In a few states, there are “fault” divorces. Yet, you don’t necessarily have to prove the other person did something (like abandonment, infidelity, or cruelty). The state won’t force anyone to stay married. Even in “fault” states, there’s usually an option to just claim irreconcilable differences.
How property (real property such as a house or personal property such as a prized collection of Star Trek DVDs) gets divided up during a divorce can include several factors. This includes whether the couple lives in a state that is considered a “community property” state.
When a couple lives in a community property state, it is much more difficult to stop your prized possessions from going to your former spouse unless you can definitively show that you owned that item before you married. Of course, things aren’t always cut and dry when it comes to states that don’t use that concept. The court relies on other factors to try and be fair to both parties.
