Editing Divorce (section)

====At-fault divorce====
Before the late 1960s, nearly all countries that permitted divorce required proof by one party that the other party had committed an act incompatible with the marriage. This was termed "grounds" for divorce (popularly called "fault") and was the only way to terminate a marriage. No-fault divorce is available in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States and other Western countries.

Fault-based divorces can be contested; evaluation of offences may involve allegations of [[collusion]] of the parties working together to get the divorce, or [[condonation]] by approving the offence, [[connivance]]  by tricking someone into committing an offence, or [[provocation (legal)|provocation]] by the other party. Contested fault divorces can be expensive, and not usually practical as eventually most divorces are granted. Comparative rectitude is a doctrine used to determine which spouse is more at fault when both spouses are guilty of breaches.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=San Antonio Divorce Center|title=Comparative Rectitude|url=http://divorcelawsanantonio.com/glossary/|url-status=usurped|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141029041744/http://divorcelawsanantonio.com/glossary/|archive-date=2014-10-29}}</ref>

The grounds for a divorce which a party could raise and need to prove included 
* desertion  
* abandonment (typically 1 year)
* cruelty
* habitual drunkenness
* drug addiction
* adultery

The requirement of proving a ground was revised and withdrawn by the terms of 'no-fault' statutes, which became popular in many Western countries in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 'no-fault' jurisdictions divorce can be obtained either on a simple allegation of 'irreconcilable differences,' 'irretrievable break-down', or 'incompatibility' with respect to the marriage relationship, or on the ground of {{nowrap|de facto}} separation.