A divorce may be granted in South Dakota divorce law using either "Fault" or "No-Fault" grounds.

Fault grounds include:
(1) adultery;
(2) confinement for incurable insanity;
(3) conviction of a felony;
(4) willful desertion;
(5) cruel and inhuman treatment;
(6) willful neglect;
(7) habitual intemperance;
(8) separation caused by misconduct.

No-Fault grounds include:
Irreconcilable differences which have caused the irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.

Of these, the "No-Fault" ground is the most straightforward and easiest to prove.

Annulment
In South Dakota divorce law, the court declares the marriage contract broken; in an annulment, the court says that there never was a marriage. Annulment is much more difficult to prove -- and is much rarer -- than divorce. If you want to go this route, you will definitely need to speak to a divorce attorney. Of course, if you want an annulment for religious reasons, you'll need to consult with your priest, minister, or rabbi as well.

Documentation
You'll need to provide your divorce lawyer with the following documentation in order to proceed with your dissolution. Start gathering everything together as soon as possible so that you can find out what might be missing and submit any requests for duplicates.

Personal Data

• Full addresses and phone numbers of both parties.
• Full names, birth dates, and addresses of all children of the marriage, their school and grade.
• Information about any prior marriage of either spouse, including a certified copy of the divorce decree.
• A copy of any domestic contracts (e.g. a prenuptial agreement).
• Information about any previous legal proceedings between the spouses or involving any of the children.
• Dates and particulars about any previous separations, attempts at reconciliation, or marriage counseling.

Financial Data

• Your previous year's income tax return, and any related data from the IRS.
• Information about your current income, e.g. a current pay slip.
• A list of substantial assets and liabilities of both spouses.

• Child Custody laws set to change in South Dakota: In a move that may influence developments in other states across the US, the South Dakota House of Representatives has given their OK to a child custody bill (“HB 1255") that will potentially give divorced non-custodial fathers greater access to their kids. Read more...

• Read our Blog
• Join our Forum
• Read Divorce Articles
• Divorce FAQs videos
• Read our Divorce Professionals Blog
• Subscribe to Free Divorce eNewsletter
• Attend our Free Divorce Magazine Teleseminar

Tuesday, February 14
at 8 pm to 8:30 EST
Preparing for Divorce Mediation - 5 Steps of Negotiation Power to get what you want
Learn More

Listen to podcasts of previous TeleSeminars.