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 Vermont
According to Vermont Code, a divorce may be decreed:
- For adultery in either party;
- When either party is sentenced to confinement at hard labor in the state prison in Vermont for life, or for 3 years or more, and is actually confined at the time of the bringing of the libel; or when either party being outside the state, receives a sentence for an equally long term of imprisonment in any one of the other states of the United States, or in a federal court, or in any one of the territories, possessions or other courts subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, or in a foreign country granting a trial by jury, and is actually confined at the time of the bringing of the libel;
- For intolerable severity in either party;
- For willful desertion or when either party has been absent for 7 years and not heard of during that time;
- On complaint of either party when one spouse has sufficient pecuniary or physical ability to provide suitable maintenance for the other and, without cause, persistently refuses or neglects so to do;
- On the ground of incurable insanity of either party;
- When a married person has lived apart from his or her spouse for 6 consecutive months and the court finds that the resumption of marital relations is not reasonably probable.
Same Sex Marriage
In Vermont, marriage is the legally recognized union of two people.
Residency Requirements
A complaint for divorce may be brought if either party to the marriage has resided within Vermont for a period of 6 months or more, but a divorce shall not be decreed for any cause, unless the plaintiff or the defendant has resided in Vermont for one year preceding the date of final hearing.
Waiting Period
A final decree of divorce will become absolute at the expiration of 3 months from the commencement of the action.
Vermont Divorce Laws and Marriage Laws
You can find a complete listing of the Vermont divorce laws by searching under “Domestic Relations” here.
