Posted by DivorceLine in Grounds for Divorce: Insanity
In addition to no-fault grounds, most states still provide traditional or “fault grounds” for divorce. The fault grounds or reasons for divorce vary from state to state. Insanity, which is also called mental illness or mental incapacity, is a specific fault ground for divorce in some states. Although insanity is a fault ground, the spouse who is declared insane is not considered to have done anything wrong. Insanity falls under the no-fault laws of some states.
Divorce based on insanity requires that the mental illness continue for a number of years, be declared incurable, or both. Those states that require the insanity to last for a certain time vary the duration from two years to five or more years. Several states specifically provide that insanity of the husband or wife does not relieve the unaffected spouse from support obligations.
As with all fault grounds for divorce, insanity must be supported with evidence or testimony or the case could be dismissed. To prove your case, you may need to have an expert provide medical or psychiatric records or testimony that your spouse is insane.
Insanity, in either a fault divorce or a no-fault divorce, is seldom used because of the difficulty of proving both the insanity of the spouse being divorced and that the insanity is incurable, which is a requirement in some states.
