Divorce Waiting Period
We used to only have fault grounds for divorce like adultery, desertion and cruelty. Maryland and Virginia have added no fault grounds based on a period of physical separation. DC has done away with fault grounds and gone all the way to no fault grounds.
Maryland has the longest waiting period for a no fault divorce. It is one year if you both agree and two years if one of you does not agree.
Virginia is six months if there are no children and a full agreement, otherwise one year.
D.C. is six months if you both agree, and one year if one of you disagrees.
Here is a chart showing the waiting requirements in all the states. Interestingly, there is no correlation between waiting period and number of divorces. DC still has the lowest divorce rate at 1.7 per thousand people.
Tags: DC, Divorce, Divorce Rate, Grounds, Maryland, Virginia, Waiting Period
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June 28th, 2010 at 7:15 pm
Why should there be a waiting period at all? I have asked my husband to leave for 2 years and he will not. I take care of everything in our home. We have no children but jointly own a house. What good does it serve that I should be tied to this man in all ways? There should be no fault and no waiting period for mature rational adults. After 25 years of marriage I should be aloud to separate my ties from this man without leaving the home that I have cared for.