What are the grounds for a divorce?
• South Dakota has several grounds for a divorce. Most divorces are granted based upon irreconcilable differences, a “no-fault” divorce. for there to be irreconcilable differences, both sides must agree, in writing, that the marriage is no longer salvageable, or the divorce must be a default divorce. If one side is not willing to agree to an irreconcilable differences divorce, the side seeking the divorce must prove to the Court a “fault-based” ground for divorce. Those include: adultery, extreme mental or physical cruelty, abandonment (continuously gone for more than 1 year), habitual intemperance (intoxication that prevents a person from attending to daily business, lasting longer than 1 year), or conviction of a felony.
