Free Divorce Information

Marriage is a legal contract and divorce is the legal way to end a marriage. This creates a number of legal expressions or terms sometimes known as legalese. This article discusses some of these words.

To condone something is to approve of it or at least to not object to it. So in a divorce hearing if someone is accused of condonation it means they are said to not oppose something. In fact you could argue that they approved of it. It might be that a husband committed adultery and the wife did not object. And if the wife then resumed sexual relations with the husband, the wife could then not rely on the husband’s adultery as a reason for their divorce. The adultery has not been condemned and condonation can be applied to the ‘forgiving’ spouse. This may seem silly or even wrong but it is an aspect of law and upon such things do courts make judgments. Changes in recent years though make condonation irrelevant.

Connivance is another expression which has largely been abolished in divorce hearings with the introduction of no-fault divorce. Connivance is also known as ‘voluntary blindness’ and occurs when a spouse in a divorce hearing agrees to a scheme or plan which has the aim of doing something illegal.

Both condonation and connivance are not required in no-fault divorce as no spouse is attempting to entrap the other.

Provocation is another legal expression having relevance in a divorce where fault is an issue. For example a wife may file for divorce claiming her husband deserted her. The divorce could be defended by the husband citing that the wife’s unreasonable behavior provoked him into leaving. As with other legal terms, provocation is not relevant in a no-fault divorce.

There is a difference between a contested and uncontested divorce but if there is no fault to be found then the contesting of the divorce will center on such matters as the division of assets, the custody and finance arrangements for the raising of children and any alimony which may be ordered by the court.

And so legal terms such as connivance, condonation and provocation are irrelevant in a no-fault divorce.