Available Grounds for Divorce in Ohio: What You Need to Know

For many years now, Ohio has been a “no-fault” divorce state. What does that mean, in a practical sense? In order to terminate a marriage, neither spouse has to prove that one or the other is responsible or “at fault” for the demise of the marital relationship.

The Role of Ohio Courts in Divorce Cases

When determining whether to terminate a marriage, Ohio courts do not particularly care whether one, both, or neither spouse was perfect or imperfect. Nor do Ohio courts particularly care what mistakes were made during the marriage, if any, or why the marriage is ending. In Ohio, if one party wants to end the marriage, it can and will be terminated, regardless of any wrongdoing (or lack thereof) by either or both parties.

However, even though a spouse does not have to demonstrate that the other spouse was “at fault” for the end of the marriage, in Ohio, the spouse seeking the divorce is required to demonstrate grounds for the termination of the marriage.

R.C. 3105.01

The recognized grounds for the termination of a marriage in Ohio are defined by statute – specifically, R.C. 3105.01. In particular, R.C. 3105.01 sets forth the following eleven grounds for divorce, any one of which provides an acceptable basis for the court to grant a divorce and terminate the parties’ marriage:

Either party already had a husband or wife living at the time of the marriage from which the divorce is now sought;

1. 1. Willful absence of the adverse party for one year;
   2. Adultery;
   3. Extreme cruelty;
   4. Fraudulent contract;
   5. Gross neglect of duty;
   6. Habitual drunkenness;
   7. Imprisonment of the adverse party in a state or federal correctional institution at the time of filing the complaint;
   8. Procurement of a divorce outside of Ohio which has released one party from the obligations of the marriage, but not the other party;
   9. The parties have lived separate and apart for one year without interruption and cohabitation;
   10. Incompatibility of the parties, not denied.

Sufficient Grounds for Divorce in Ohio

While some of the aforementioned grounds for divorce, without a doubt, have an element of “fault” baked into the same, it bears repeating that demonstrating any one of the 11 grounds for divorce listed above is sufficient for the court to terminate the marriage. In this way, even if the demise of the relationship was, in fact, due to one of the other more “fault-based” grounds, like adultery or extreme cruelty, it is not uncommon for the parties to simply select one of the less problematic, no-fault grounds to terminate the marriage—for example, incompatibility or living separate and apart for one year without interruption and cohabitation.

Further, it is also not uncommon for a party to include several grounds for divorce in his or her Complaint for Divorce or Counterclaim for Divorce, simply to ensure that at least one ground for divorce can be successfully demonstrated.

However, simply including several grounds for divorce in an initial pleading does not mean that the marriage must terminate based on all—or even the most problematic—of the same. In fact, the majority of marriages in Ohio terminate based on one of the “no-fault,” neutral grounds identified above, as opposed to one of the “fault-based” grounds.