Arkansas law gives you two paths to end a marriage: a single no-fault ground that requires 18 continuous months of living apart, or one of seven fault-based grounds that let you file right away if you can prove specific misconduct by your spouse. Couples in a covenant marriage work from a different and shorter list, and must complete counseling before a court will take the case. The reasons for divorce in Arkansas are set by statute, and the one you choose shapes how long the process takes and what you have to prove in court.
The No-Fault Ground: 18 Months of Separation
Arkansas recognizes one no-fault ground: the spouses have lived separate and apart for 18 continuous months without cohabitation.1Justia. Arkansas Code 9-12-301 – Grounds for Divorce It does not matter who moved out, whether the separation was mutual, or whether anyone was at fault. Once the 18 months are complete, the court must grant the divorce to the spouse who asks for it.
The word “continuous” matters. The separation has to be unbroken for the full period. If you try to reconcile and move back in together, the clock effectively resets, because the separation is no longer continuous. That is the most common stumbling block for couples who attempt to patch things up, fail, and then learn they have lost credit for time already spent apart.
Most people pick this route to avoid airing private grievances in court. No one has to prove wrongdoing. The judge needs evidence that the two of you kept separate households for the entire 18 months. The tradeoff is time, which is why some spouses turn to the fault-based list instead.
The Seven Fault-Based Grounds
Arkansas law lists seven specific fault grounds that let you file without waiting out the 18-month separation.1Justia. Arkansas Code 9-12-301 – Grounds for Divorce Each one requires proof, and the burden sits with the spouse making the allegation.
General Indignities
You can file when your spouse has treated you in a way that makes the marriage intolerable. This is the broadest fault ground and the one most commonly litigated in Arkansas. It covers patterns like persistent belittling, open contempt, or systematic disrespect that destroys the peace of the home. One bad argument is not enough. Courts look for a repeated pattern that would make any reasonable person’s life miserable.
Adultery
If your spouse commits adultery after the marriage, you have grounds to file. The statute requires the adultery to have occurred “subsequent to the marriage,” so pre-marriage conduct does not count. Proof is usually circumstantial, built on evidence of both opportunity and inclination, though direct evidence works too.
Felony or Infamous Crime
Conviction of a felony or other infamous crime gives the other spouse grounds. The key word is “convicted.” An arrest or a pending charge is not enough. You need the actual conviction in hand.
Habitual Drunkenness
A spouse addicted to habitual drunkenness for one year provides a recognized ground. The statute does not require the drinking to have started after the wedding. The addiction simply needs to have persisted for at least a year.
Cruel and Dangerous Treatment
A spouse who endangers your life through cruel treatment gives you immediate grounds to file. This bar sits higher than general indignities. The behavior has to create genuine danger to life or physical safety, not merely emotional distress.
Impotence
If your spouse was impotent when you married and remains so, you can seek a divorce. Both conditions have to be met: the impotence must have existed at the time of the marriage and must still exist when you file.
Willful Nonsupport
When your spouse has a legal obligation to support you, has the financial ability to provide basic necessities, and willfully refuses to do so, you have grounds. All three elements must be present: the duty, the ability, and the deliberate refusal.
Grounds for Ending a Covenant Marriage
Covenant marriage in Arkansas is a separate legal commitment that involves pre-marital counseling and a formal promise to treat the union as permanent, so the exit ramps are intentionally narrow.2Justia. Arkansas Code 9-11-803 – Covenant Marriage Before the court will even consider the case, the spouse seeking divorce must first obtain counseling.3Justia. Arkansas Code 9-11-808 – Divorce or Separation
After counseling is complete, a spouse in a covenant marriage can obtain a divorce only by proving one of the following:
- The other spouse committed adultery.
- The other spouse was convicted of a felony or other infamous crime.
- The other spouse physically or sexually abused the filing spouse or a child of either spouse.
- The spouses have lived continuously apart without reconciliation for two full years.
- The spouses were granted a judicial separation and have lived continuously apart without reconciliation for two years from the date of that order, or two and a half years when minor children are involved.
The standard 18-month no-fault separation does not apply to covenant marriages.3Justia. Arkansas Code 9-11-808 – Divorce or Separation The shortest separation-based path is two years, and it can run longer depending on whether you have children and whether the separation started with a court order. Physical or sexual abuse appears here but not on the regular fault list, which reflects the higher stakes the legislature attached to covenant marriage.
Residency Comes Before Grounds
Having grounds is not enough on its own. At least one spouse must have lived in Arkansas for 60 days immediately before filing the complaint, and the judge cannot sign a final decree until three full months of state residency have passed.4Justia. Arkansas Code 9-12-307 – Matters That Must Be Proved – Definition The statute uses “three full months” rather than 90 days, so the exact wait depends on the calendar months involved. If your spouse cannot be personally served or does not respond, the three-month residency must also be met before the court will act.
How the Ground You Choose Affects the Outcome
The ground you select mainly affects timing. A fault-based filing can move forward right away if you can prove the allegation; the no-fault route forces an 18-month wait but spares you from having to prove anything beyond the separation itself.
Property division is a separate question. Arkansas starts from a presumption that marital property is split equally, 50/50, and the court can deviate only after weighing factors like the length of the marriage, each spouse’s income and employability, health and age, and each party’s contributions, including homemaking.5Justia. Arkansas Code 9-12-315 – Division of Property – Definition Fault is not on that list. Property you brought into the marriage, inherited, or received as a gift generally stays separate, along with certain disability-related payments and anything excluded by a valid prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. Choosing a fault ground will not, by itself, get you a bigger share of the marital estate, though if a spouse’s misconduct actually wasted or destroyed marital assets, the economic impact of that behavior can influence how the court divides what remains.