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What No-Fault Divorce Means—and Why It Should Remain the Law
Unilateral No-Fault Divorce is currently the law in all 50 states, allowing one spouse to legally end a marriage without needing to prove wrongdoing by the other. However, this fundamental right is now facing growing political opposition as conservative politicians express a desire to eliminate or narrow the right to No-Fault Divorce. Although unilateral No-Fault Divorce does not appear to be at risk in New York State, it is important that we all understand the history and benefits of No-Fault Divorce and why we feel strongly that it should remain the law.
What Is No-Fault Divorce?
No-Fault Divorce allows one spouse to legally end their marriage without proving wrongdoing, helping reduce conflict, costs, and harm, especially for survivors of abuse and co-parents. Without it, divorce becomes more adversarial, more expensive, and more public. The most common legal terms are “irretrievable breakdown” of the marriage (as in New York) or “irreconcilable differences” (as in California). In other words, if one spouse believes the marriage is over, that is sufficient to legally end it.
All 50 states have unilateral No-Fault Divorce, meaning one spouse can initiate a divorce even if the other disagrees. This has been the national standard since 2010, when New York finally adopted it. Before unilateral No-Fault Divorce became the law in New York, you had to prove “fault”—such as adultery or cruelty—in court or convince your spouse to accept blame just to obtain a divorce. Although certain states had bilateral No-Fault Divorce, where both parties could agree to a No-Fault Divorce, that was not always the case.
Here’s a brief history of No-Fault Divorce in the United States:
- 1969: California became the first state to adopt No-Fault Divorce, citing “irreconcilable differences” as grounds.
- 1970s: Many other states began adopting No-Fault Divorce laws, and by 1977, nine states had done so.
- Late 1980s: Nearly every state, except for South Dakota and New York, had adopted its own version of No-Fault Divorce.
- 1985: South Dakota adopted No-Fault Divorce.
- 2010: New York became the last state to adopt unilateral No-Fault Divorce.
How Divorce Worked Before No-Fault
Before unilateral No-Fault Divorce laws, the only way to get divorced was to prove your spouse was at fault. That meant going to court and presenting evidence of wrongdoing—abandonment, adultery, cruelty, refusal of intimacy, and more—in front of a judge.
Not only was it difficult to get evidence, hire legal representation, and bring your divorce to court, it was also humiliating as couples had to drag personal matters into the public eye, often bringing in witnesses to attest to their personal matters in a public proceeding. People sometimes even committed perjury and lied under oath just to escape an unhappy marriage. If your evidence and testimony was not persuasive enough and the court wasn’t convinced that you had proven fault, your divorce could be denied—leaving you legally bound to someone you no longer wanted to be with; someone you just went through a trial trying to divorce; someone who may even be abusive or dangerous.
Who Benefits From No-Fault Divorce? (Short Answer: Everyone)
You don’t have to be in the middle of a divorce—or even married—to benefit from unilateral No-Fault Divorce laws.
Here’s how:
1. Survivors of Abuse Can Leave—Without Facing More Harm
No-Fault Divorce provides a legal exit to an abusive marriage without hurdles, because survivors are not required to prove abuse in court. That matters. Trials can re-traumatize survivors and put them in increased danger. Understandably, many survivors of domestic violence would remain silent in their abusive marriage out of fear of increased harm or because they couldn’t safely collect the evidence they’d need to “win” a fault-based case. Unilateral No-Fault Divorce laws have given people in abusive marriages a safer way out.
Any barrier that a survivor of domestic violence has against leaving and getting to a safer position is substantial, and not being able to divorce your spouse without having to prove at trial that they are abusive is a significant barrier.
2. No-Fault Divorce Allows for Out-of-Court Resolution—Making Divorce More Private, More Affordable, and Less Toxic
Fault-based divorce almost always requires the parties to go to court for a trial. This involved presenting evidence before a judge, creating a public record, calling witnesses, gathering evidence, hiring attorneys, and investing significant time and money to prepare and argue your case.
Even when both spouses wanted the divorce, one still needed to “admit fault” or prove that the other did something wrong—something most people aren’t willing or able to do, especially when it’s in the public eye.
No-Fault Divorce makes it possible to negotiate your divorce out of court, resulting in greater privacy, lower costs, and less emotional strain for everyone involved.
3. It Protects the Right to Live the Life You Want to Live
When it’s known that your spouse could choose to leave you if one spouse becomes unhappy in the marriage, it encourages you and your spouse to treat each other with respect and accountability, thereby improving the quality of intact marriages. Research supports this. After states adopted unilateral No-Fault Divorce, serious physical harm within marriages declined significantly.
According to a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), the states that implemented unilateral No-Fault Divorce saw a 10%-20% drop in female suicide rates, a 30% decline in domestic violence, and up to a 33% reduction in spousal homicide.
Another study published in The Quarterly Journal of Economics found that women’s suicide rates fell by nearly 20% in the years following the passage of unilateral No-Fault Divorce laws, with no corresponding increase in male suicide rates.
These findings suggest that the right to unilateral No-Fault Divorce results in safer outcomes for women and survivors of abuse. This also indicates that simply knowing one has the freedom to leave an unsafe or unhealthy relationship leads to both safer outcomes and healthier marriages overall. As noted in the NBER study (p. 2), “[I]n a society in which people can leave abusive partners, spouses may be less likely to be abusive.”
4. It Preserves Healthier Relationships Post-Divorce
Not every marriage ends because of abuse. Many people simply grow apart, want different things, or realize they’re no longer compatible. No-Fault Divorce allows these couples to separate without turning their spouse into an enemy. That’s especially important for co-parents who will need to cooperate long after the legal process ends.
Without No-Fault Divorce, co-parents could be forced into court to accuse each other of misconduct, starting conflict that would otherwise never happen, and potentially poisoning future communication for years. A severed and acrimonious relationship with your co-parent harms you and your children.
What Happens If We Lose No-Fault Divorce?
If efforts to roll back unilateral No-Fault Divorce succeed, fighting things out in the courtroom will become unavoidable for many couples. You’ll either need to accuse your spouse of serious wrongdoing and prove it in a trial or wait, possibly indefinitely, for your spouse to “admit” fault. That leads to more trials, lengthier divorce proceedings, higher costs, more public exposure, and more emotional harm.
Why You Should Care—Even If It Doesn’t Affect You Today
Maybe you’re happily married. Maybe you’re single. Maybe you’ve never even thought about divorce. That’s exactly why this matters.
Unilateral No-Fault Divorce is one of those rights that most people don’t notice—until it’s gone. If your marriage ever stops working, you should have the freedom to leave. So should your friends, your siblings, your future children. And everyone should be able to leave their marriage without lying in court, reliving trauma, or bankrupting themselves in the public eye.
No-Fault Divorce doesn’t make divorce easy, but it makes it possible for more people.
What This Means for Your Future
No-Fault Divorce changed the landscape of marriage and personal freedom in the U.S. It protects survivors. It lowers conflict. It promotes public health. It gives you agency. And it grants everyone—not just women and not just survivors of abuse—the right to leave a relationship that no longer works.
Without unilateral No-Fault Divorce, the right to have agency over your relationships becomes more strained as divorce becomes a longer, more painful process that forces people to relive trauma, incur higher costs, and navigate an inherently adversarial system.
If you’re ready to take the next step toward a healthier, more peaceful future, the collaborative team at Vacca Family Law Group is here to help. We’re committed to providing the support, guidance, and expertise you need to make informed decisions for yourself and your family, without proving fault and without ever going to court. Contact us today to schedule your free introductory call.
Vacca Family Law Group is located at One Grand Central Place, 60 E. 42nd Street, Suite 700, New York, NY, 10165.
Jamie Galvin-Baum
Jamie Galvin-Baum is an Attorney at Vacca Family Law Group and focuses on resolving matrimonial and family disputes in a fair and equitable manner. Jamie brings a unique, non-adversarial, and collaborative approach to family law matters, prioritizing peaceful resolutions over courtroom battles. Jamie’s experience as a judicial family law clerk for the Honorable Michael Antoniewicz, J.S.C. in the Bergen County, New Jersey Superior Court, Family Part has given her invaluable insights into how matrimonial and family issues are handled in court. She leverages this experience in both collaborative practice and mediation, as she believes the right person to decide on your matrimonial and family law issues is you, not a judge.
Jamie earned her J.D. from Brooklyn Law School as a Richardson Merit Scholar, where she studied family law, alternative dispute resolution, criminal justice reform, and reproductive justice. During law school, Jamie interned with the Honorable Kelly O’Neill Levy in the New York County Supreme Court, Matrimonial Part and worked for Day Law & Mediation. Jamie was awarded the Robert A. Kahn Family Law Scholarship and the Carole Mehlman Gould Prize, which is granted to the student who has made the greatest contributions to women’s rights while in law school.