What happens in a fault divorce if both spouses are at fault?
When both parties have shown grounds for divorce, the court will grant a divorce to the spouse who is least at fault under a doctrine called "comparative rectitude." Years ago, when both parties were at fault, neither was entitled to a divorce. The absurdity of this result gave rise to the concept of comparative rectitude.
Nowadays, it's usually one spouse who files the divorce papers first; if the other person disagrees with the "fault" accusations, he or she can file an "answer" to the divorce complaint.
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