New Hampshire law clearly outlines that a party is only entitled to a fault ground divorce if he or she is an “innocent” spouse. In order to be an innocent spouse, the husband or wife must be “free from guilt”. In other words, the party requesting a fault ground divorce must not also be guilty of an offense against the other spouse, which would be grounds for divorce.
By way of an example, if a husband discovers that his wife has committed adultery and proceeds with filing for divorce, the husband would not be entitled to a divorce based upon adultery if the wife could prove to the court that the husband himself was also guilty of adultery or another fault ground basis (i.e. habitual drunkard, impotence, conduct to injure health and reason, etc.).
If you have any questions regarding whether you have a valid fault ground divorce or whether you have a valid defense to a fault ground claim, please contact an attorney at Hamblett & Kerrigan.
Kevin P. Rauseo is a former director at Hamblett & Kerrigan P.A. and has since been appointed as a Justice for the New Hampshire Circuit Court. Please feel free to contact another attorney at Hamblett & Kerrigan to discuss your legal issues.