How to File for Divorce When Your Spouse Is Mentally Ill

Each state has its own laws governing divorce. Most states offer a no-fault divorce, which can be granted upon request without consent of the other spouse. Some states still require petitioners to justify a dissolution of marriage. Mental illness is a grounds for divorce in a few states, and if you live in one when your spouse is determined to be mentally ill, it is possible to file for divorce for this reason.

Instructions

1. Review state laws. The specific requirements for showing mental illness as a grounds for divorce varies by state. Georgia, for example, requires ajudication by a court of mental illness, or certification by two physicians. But in Alabama, divorce on the grounds of mental illness requires confinement in a mental hospital for five successive years and a finding that the spouse is "hopelessly and incurably insane." And some states don't single out mental illness as a grounds for divorce at all.

2. Check jurisdiction. If your state recognizes mental illness as a legitimate cause for divorce, and you think your spouse meets the requirements, confirm the jurisdictional requirements for divorce in the state, and see in which county you should file. Most states have a residency requirement of at least six to twelve months, though the marriage did not have to occur in the state, and the divorce can usually be filed in the county of residence of either spouse, but the law varies by state.

3. File petition and other documents. All formal divorce proceedings begin with the filing of a petition for divorce by one spouse. In the petition you identify mental illness as the grounds for the divorce. Other documents usually necessary with a divorce petition are financial statements concerning the income and debts of the marriage, and a summons to a court hearing on the petition.

4. Serve process. The court will take no action until the divorce papers are properly served on the respondent spouse. In the case of serious mental illness and institutionalization, however, service will have to be effectuated on the physician, legal custodian, attorney in fact, or other empowered agent of the spouse.

5. Prove grounds. If the spouse does not contest the divorce, it might not be necessary to prove your claim of mental illness. If they do, however, you will have to provide the court with evidence that your spouse meets the requirements of mental illness as a grounds for divorce in the laws of your state. This evidence can typically be documentary or testimonial.

Tips & Warnings

• If a divorce on the grounds of divorce fails for some reason, there are usually easier ways to get divorced, such as no-fault laws or irreconcilable difference.

References

• Grounds for Divorce: Insanity
• State Divorce Laws

Resources

• Divorce Laws of the Fifty States, District of Columbia and Puerto Rico
• Mental Health: Types of Mental Illness