What are Grounds for Divorce in Tennessee?

Franklin divorce lawyer helps clients prove cause in contested divorces

As in many other states, you can get a divorce in Tennessee just because you and your spouse agree that things just aren’t working out anymore. Provided you come to an agreement on all the terms of the divorce. In an uncontested divorce, you and your spouse agree that you want to get a divorce, and you don’t have to prove anything to the courts in order for the divorce to be granted, and the court would review your agreements on the terms of the divorce. But what happens when you want a divorce but your spouse doesn’t? What happens when your spouse is refusing to grant you a divorce?

The good news is that you aren’t just stuck in a marriage that you don’t want to be in anymore. The bad news (potentially) is that you will have to show grounds for your divorce. You will have to prove to the court that you have a good reason for getting the divorce.

I’m Judy A. Oxford, an experienced Franklin divorce lawyer, and I’ve been helping clients get divorced when their spouses were contesting it for many years. These are some of the grounds that Tennessee recognizes and that I’ve used to help my clients:

Impotency and sterility
Pregnancy before the marriage without the knowledge of the husband
Adultery
Bigamy (marrying you while still being married to another person)
Abandonment and refusing to provide for you while having the ability to provide for you
Desertion or absence, willfully or maliciously, for a full year without reasonable cause
Refusal to move to Tennessee with the spouse without a reasonable cause, and being apart for two years as a result
Living in separate residences without cohabiting for two years (if there are no minor children in the marriage)
Habitual drunkenness or drug abuse, when the habit was acquired after the marriage
Attempt on the life of the other spouse by poison or other means showing malice
Felony conviction, and confinement in the penitentiary
Inappropriate marital conduct

Fortunately, many of these grounds are easy to prove, such as living apart or one spouse having a felony conviction. However, many of the grounds require evidence, which may wind up being circumstantial and based on a person’s testimony, such as adultery or habitual drunkenness or drug abuse. You may know that these things happened, and your spouse may know that they happened, but if your spouse is denying them in court, you will have to come up with the evidence to prove the accusations.

I work with my clients on their grounds for divorce and their evidence, including testimony, to try to put on the most effective case in court so they can get the divorce they want as quickly as possible. Having to fight a case that is lingering in the courts can make the whole divorce process much more difficult, and I explore every legal option to move the case forward quickly and successfully. If your spouse has indicated that they will not agree to a divorce, contact me, July A. Oxford, an experienced Franklin divorce lawyer today to start exploring your legal options. Call my office at (615) 791-8511 to schedule a free consultation, or fill out the secure online form on my site.