Divorce or dissolution of marriage is a process of the law that covers the ending of a marriage before the death of either spouse. The approach to divorce varies by jurisdiction. There are two basic approaches to divorce: fault based and no-fault based.

In Fault divorces, a spouse seeking divorce had to show a cause such as cruelty, incurable mental illness, or adultery. Even in such cases, a divorce was barred in cases such as the suing spouse's procurement or connivance which is contributing to the fault, such as by arranging for adultery, condonation which is forgiving the fault either explicitly or by continuing to cohabit after knowing of it, or recrimination which is the suing spouse also being guilty.

The no-fault divorce is a divorce in which the dissolution of a marriage requires neither a showing wrong-doing of either party nor any evidentiary proceedings at all. It is granted upon a petition by either party to a family court, without requiring the petitioner show that the respondent is at fault, and despite respondent's potential objections to the dissolution.

A no-fault divorce can be arranged far more easily rather than the Fault divorce. Although the terms of the divorce can be and often are contested with respect to child-related matters and finances. Ultimately most cases are settled by the parties before trial. Visit the st. louis divorce lawyer to learn more about the no-fault divorce.

Apart from the no-fault and fault divorces, there are also other approaches to divorce, and others could be considered to be less adversarial than the other. Other approaches to divorce include the summary divorce, uncontested divorce, collaborative divorce, and the mediated divorce.

A summary (or simple) divorce, available in some jurisdictions, is used when spouses meet certain eligibility requirements, or can agree on key issues beforehand.

A divorce can be uncontested if the parties can agree and present the court with a fair and equitable agreement, approval of the divorce is almost guaranteed. If the two parties cannot come to an agreement, they may ask the court to decide how to split property, deal with the custody of their children.

Mediation tends to be less adversarial (particularly important for any children), allows the parties greater control and privacy, saves money, and generally achieves similar outcomes to the normal adversarial process. Also, courts will often approve a mediated settlement quickly. Similar in concept, but with more support than mediation, is Collaborative Law. Visit the st. louis divorce lawyer for more information about this.

In a collaborative divorce, the parties negotiate an agreed resolution with the assistance of attorneys who are trained in the collaborative divorce process and in mediation, and often with the assistance of a neutral financial specialist and/or divorce coach. For more information about this or about the different approaches to divorce, then visit the st. louis divorce lawyer for more details.