Please note: local and state laws change constantly. This information is for educational purposes only. We do our best to keep this up-to-date, but please contact us to discuss your unique situation.
Getting Divorced in Arkansas
According to Arkansas state code, divorce will be granted for the following causes:
- When either party, at the time of the contract, was and still is impotent.
- When either party is convicted of a felony or other infamous crime.
- When either party is:
- Addicted to habitual drunkenness for one year
- Guilty of such cruel and barbarous treatment as to endanger the life of the other; or
- Offers such indignities to the person of the other that renders his or her condition intolerable.
- When either party has committed adultery subsequent to the marriage.
- When husband and wife have lived separate and apart from each other for 18 continuous months, the court will grant an absolute decree of divorce at the suit of either party, whether the separation was the voluntary act of one party or by the mutual consent of both parties or due to the fault of either party or both parties.
- In all cases in which a husband and wife have lived separate and apart for three consecutive years without cohabitation by reason of the incurable insanity of one of them, the court will grant a divorce upon the petition of the sane spouse if the proof shows that the insane spouse has been committed to an institution for the care and treatment of the insane for three or more years prior to the filing of the suit. (Other conditions apply.)
- When either spouse legally obligated to support the other, and having the ability to provide the other with the common necessaries of life, willfully fails to do so.
Legal Separation
A spouse may obtain a judgment of judicial separation only upon proof of any of the following:
- The other spouse has committed adultery.
- The other spouse has committed a felony and has been sentenced to death or imprisonment.
- The other spouse has physically or sexually abused the spouse seeking the legal separation or divorce or a child of one of the spouses.
- The spouses have been living separate and apart continuously without reconciliation for a period of 2 years, or
- The other spouse is:
- Addicted to habitual drunkenness for 1 year;
- Guilty of such cruel and barbarous treatment as to endanger the life of the other; or
- Offers such indignities to the person of the other that renders his or her condition intolerable.
Waiting Period
The parties must have lived separate and apart from each other for a period of 12 months before the filing of the complaint. A decree of divorce will be rendered 30 days following the action for divorce is commenced.
Arkansas Divorce Laws and Marriage Laws
You can find a complete listing of the Arkansas divorce laws by searching “divorce” here.
Arkansas Divorce Information by County
