GROUNDS FOR DIVORCE: NO-FAULT or FAULT ?

Alaska permits “no-fault” divorces, or dissolution of marriage, to be awarded on the grounds of “incompatibility of temperament which has caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage." Most clients use this ground as it does not require proof at the final hearing.

A divorce in Alaska can also be granted on the following "fault" grounds:
AS 25.24.050. Grounds For Divorce.
A divorce may be granted for any of the following grounds:

(1) failure to consummate the marriage at the time of the marriage and continuing at the commencement of the action;
(2) adultery;
(3) conviction of a felony;
(4) willful desertion for a period of one year;
(5) either
   (A) cruel and inhuman treatment calculated to impair health or endanger life;
   (B) personal indignities rendering life burdensome; or
   (C) incompatibility of temperament;
(6) habitual gross drunkenness contracted since marriage and continuing for one year prior to the commencement of the action;
(7) incurable mental illness when the spouse has been confined to an institution for a period of at least 18 months immediately preceding the commencement of the action; the status as to the support and maintenance of the mentally ill person is not altered in any way by the granting of the divorce;
(8) addiction of either party, subsequent to the marriage, to the habitual use of opium, morphine, cocaine, or a similar drug.