Divorce in your state: what to expect

What actually happens if you divorce in your state: how property is divided, how long you have to have lived there, what you have to prove, how long it takes, and what the court is deciding about the children. Every row on every one of these pages is cited to the statute or the court, and where we could not confirm something we say so instead of guessing.

The one thing worth knowing before you start

People assume their state works like the one they read about online. It very often does not. 9 states are community property states and the rest divide property equitably, which is not the same as equally — and that single difference changes what is worth arguing about. The rest of what differs is on these pages.

All fifty states. The line under each one is the thing about that state that surprises people.

Alabamaequitable distributionfee set by countyAlabama still lists 12 distinct fault grounds alongside its two no-fault grounds, more than most states.Alaskaequitable distribution$250 to fileAlaska has no minimum residency period before filing: the Alaska Court System’s own divorce guidance says one spouse must be an Alaska resident when…Arizonacommunity property$261 to fileArizona is a pure no-fault state for standard marriages — fault grounds exist only within the opt-in ‘covenant marriage’ framework, which is unusual…Arkansasequitable distributionfee set by countyArkansas is one of the relatively few states that still requires an 18-month separation for a pure no-fault divorce, which is long compared to most…Californiacommunity property$435 to fileCalifornia is a pure no-fault state — courts cannot consider marital misconduct at all when granting the divorce itself (though it can matter in some…Coloradoequitable distribution$260 to fileColorado uses the terms ‘allocation of parental responsibilities’ and ‘parenting time’ rather than ‘custody’ and ‘visitation.’Connecticutequitable distribution$360 to fileConnecticut’s equitable-distribution statute (§46b-81) is notable nationally for letting courts divide property regardless of when or how it was…Delawareequitable distribution$165 to fileDelaware has no free-standing fault grounds, but fault is not irrelevant: the court may find the marriage irretrievably broken from ‘separation…Floridaequitable distribution$408 to fileFlorida’s alimony law changed substantially in 2023 (effective for cases filed after July 1, 2023), eliminating permanent alimony as a category —…Georgiaequitable distributionGeorgia’s statute lists thirteen separate grounds for divorce — twelve fault grounds plus irretrievable breakdown — one of the longest lists in the…Hawaiiequitable distribution$215 to fileHawaii is one of a small number of states with no fault-based divorce grounds at all.Idahocommunity property$207 to fileIdaho requires only six weeks’ residence before you can file (Idaho Code § 32-701), one of the shortest residency requirements in the country — most…Illinoisequitable distributionIllinois eliminated the terms ‘custody’ and ‘visitation’ from its statutes in 2016 in favor of ‘allocation of parental responsibilities’ and…Indianaequitable distributionfee set by countyIndiana’s equal-division presumption for property (§31-15-7-5) is a stronger statutory starting point toward a 50/50 split than most…Iowaequitable distribution$265 to fileIowa is a pure no-fault state — irretrievable breakdown of the marriage relationship is the only ground.Kansasequitable distributionKansas’s marital-property definition is unusually broad — under K.S.A. 23-2802(a) it reaches premarital and inherited property, which the court then…Kentuckyequitable distributionKentucky’s default presumption of joint custody AND equal (50/50) parenting time is unusually strong compared to most states, which use best-interest…Louisianacommunity propertyLouisiana requires a genuine period of physical separation (180 days, or a full year with minor children) even for a no-fault divorce — there’s no…Maineequitable distribution$120 to fileMaine treats married and unmarried parents identically for custody purposes under its ‘parental rights and responsibilities’ framework.Marylandequitable distributionMaryland abolished all fault-based grounds for divorce effective October 1, 2023 — a major, recent change (previously Maryland required a full…Massachusettsequitable distribution$200 to fileMassachusetts’ two-track no-fault system (the joint ‘1A’ petition versus the unilateral ‘1B’ complaint) is a distinctive procedural feature — 1A…Michiganequitable distributionMichigan is a pure no-fault state — the breakdown-of-marriage-relationship ground is the only one available;Minnesotaequitable distribution$390 to fileMinnesota’s custody law draws a sharp distinction most people miss: there IS a presumption favoring joint legal custody (decision-making) when…Mississippiequitable distributionThis is one of the most important practical facts about Mississippi divorce: unlike almost every other state, you cannot get a unilateral no-fault…Missouriequitable distributionMissouri’s 2023 statutory change adding a 50/50 parenting-time presumption is a significant, fairly recent shift that people relying on older…Montanaequitable distribution$170 to fileMontana lets you prove irretrievable breakdown either by 180 days of living apart before filing or by evidence of ‘serious marital discord’ (MCA…Nebraskaequitable distributionNebraska has a strict, no-exceptions 60-day wait after service before any final hearing, even in fully uncontested cases with no children.Nevadacommunity propertyNevada’s 6-week residency requirement is one of the shortest in the country, historically why Nevada became known as a ‘divorce mill’ state (Reno…New Hampshireequitable distribution$250 to fileNew Hampshire’s residency rule has no minimum time requirement if both spouses currently live in NH — one of the more permissive rules nationally.New Jerseyequitable distribution$300 to fileNew Jersey lawmakers clarified in 2026 that courts must not presume equal or 50/50 parenting time, resolving conflicting caselaw on the point.New Mexicocommunity property$137 to fileNew Mexico is one of the few states with an explicit statutory presumption FOR joint custody as the starting point — stronger than most states’…New Yorkequitable distribution$335 to fileNew York’s no-fault ground (DRL 170(7)) itself requires the marriage to have been irretrievably broken for at least six months before filing –…North Carolinaequitable distribution$225 to fileNorth Carolina is a ‘pure’ no-fault state for the divorce ground itself: one year of physical separation (G.S.North Dakotaequitable distribution$160 to fileNorth Dakota is one of the few remaining states that still retains a full slate of fault-based divorce grounds (adultery, cruelty, desertion…Ohioequitable distributionOhio’s ‘incompatibility’ no-fault ground only works if BOTH spouses agree and neither denies it in court — unlike most no-fault states, one spouse…Oklahomaequitable distribution$183 to fileOklahoma’s statute (43 O.S. § 101) lists twelve separate grounds for divorce, one of the longest lists in the country — but incompatibility is what…Oregonequitable distribution$301 to fileOregon is a ‘pure’ no-fault state by statute — ORS 107.036 explicitly abolishes the doctrines of fault for divorce purposes, so marital misconduct…Pennsylvaniaequitable distributionfee set by countyPennsylvania offers two separate no-fault paths to divorce: a mutual-consent track with a mandatory 90-day waiting period after filing (23 Pa.C.S.Rhode Islandequitable distributionRhode Island’s custody statute specifically bars a parent’s receipt of public assistance from being used as a custody factor.South Carolinaequitable distribution$150 to fileSouth Carolina’s residency rule is unusually flexible: only 3 months if both spouses already live in the state, versus roughly a year if only one…South Dakotaequitable distribution$97 to fileSouth Dakota’s residency rule is genuinely unusual: the statute requires residency only at the moment the action is filed, with no minimum duration…Tennesseeequitable distributionfee set by countyTennessee’s no-fault ground carries a mandatory cooling-off period that differs by family situation — 60 days for couples without minor children…Texascommunity propertyfee set by countyTexas is a community property state that does not mandate an even 50/50 split — courts must divide the estate in a way that’s ‘just and right,’…Utahequitable distribution$350 to fileUtah completely recodified its family law statutes out of Title 30 into a brand-new Title 81 in the mid-2020s — older sources citing ‘Utah Code…Vermontequitable distribution$295 to fileVermont’s no-fault ground is unusual in requiring the court to make an affirmative finding that ‘resumption of marital relations is not reasonably…Virginiaequitable distribution$60 to fileVirginia’s no-fault separation period drops from 1 year to 6 months specifically when the couple has no minor children and a signed separation…Washingtoncommunity property$250 to fileWashington has essentially no residency wait — you can file the moment you become a WA resident — but then must wait a mandatory 90 days after…West Virginiaequitable distribution$135 to fileWest Virginia’s equitable-distribution statute is titled ‘Equal division of marital property’ and starts from an express command that marital…Wisconsincommunity property$184 to fileWisconsin, like West Virginia, textually starts from a presumption of equal division of marital property rather than merely ‘fair’ division.Wyomingequitable distribution$160 to fileWyoming asks for only 60 days’ residence before filing — one of the shortest residency requirements in the country, where six months or a year is…

How to read these pages

Every figure has a citation next to it. If a row says “we could not confirm this at a primary source”, that is exactly what it means: we went looking at the statute and would not guess. Where a row is marked not re-checked, our tools could not reach that state’s official statute site on the day of the last review, so it still rests on the earlier reading.

The date at the foot of each page is when its sources were last read against the originals — not when the page was last edited. Statutes change without notice. When we get something wrong we publish it at thecusp.app/corrections with the date, what changed, and how long the error was live.

This is not advice about your case. The same statute produces very different outcomes on different facts, and the facts that decide yours — how long you were married, who earned what, whose name is on what — are not on these pages because we do not know them.

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Sources last checked4 September 2026
Page published4 September 2026
What this means. This is when the sources on this page were last read against their originals — statutes, court rules, official schedules — taken from the date this page was built from its sources. It is not the date the page was last edited. Adding a link or fixing a typo does not move it; re-reading the statute does. Law changes without notice, so treat anything time-sensitive as needing a fresh check. Where we get something wrong we publish it at thecusp.app/corrections with the date, what changed, and how long the error was live.