Posted by DivorceLine in Grounds for Divorce: Collusion
Collusion is one of the defenses to the fault grounds for divorce. Collusion is an agreement between spouses for one of them to commit, or at least appear to have committed, an act that qualifies as grounds for a fault-based divorce in order to allow the other spouse to get a divorce. In many states, getting a divorce based on grounds is quicker than if a no-fault divorce is sought.
An example of collusion is when one spouse makes up a reason for divorce and the other spouse agrees to go along with it in order to get a divorce more quickly. The spouses are pretending that one spouse is at fault so that they have a ground for divorce that is recognized by the laws of their state. Those actions by the spouses are considered collusion because the spouses are working together to mislead the judge. If, before the divorce is final, one of the spouses changes his or her mind about the divorce, that spouse can use collusion as a defense against divorce.
The recent trend is to eliminate defenses in divorce cases, and states that have adopted marriage breakdown or a similar standard as the sole reason for divorce have eliminated collusion as a defense.
Collusion is rarely used as a defense because it can require witnesses and involve a lot of time and expense. Also, chances are good that a court will eventually grant the divorce because there is a strong public policy against forcing people to stay married when they don’t want to be. The time and expense that went into trying to prove collusion may be wasted.
If you want to bring up a defense against a fault-based divorce action, you may want to consult a divorce attorney for advice. A divorce attorney can make sure that you completely understand the available defenses to a divorce in your state as well as any legal consequences.
