What are the grounds for divorce in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts?
Irretrievable Breakdown of the Marriage This is the “no-fault” concept. The benefits resulting from the use of this ground for divorce is essentially that neither the husband or the wife is required to allege fault or blame the other spouse for the breakdown of the marriage. The Court also does not require either spouse to give testimony to prove the other spouse at fault for the breakdown of the marriage. Cruel and Abusive Treatment The granting of a divorce on this ground does not require proof of physical violence by one spouse upon the other. This ground is broad enough to include mere words, if they create a reasonable fear of personal violence, or tend to wound the feelings to such a degree as to affect the health of the party or create a reasonable apprehension that it may be affected. Non-support This ground of divorce requires that you show that your spouse, although able to support the family, did grossly, wantonly and cruelly refuse and neglect to provide suitable support fo
