Condonation is one of the defenses to the fault grounds for divorce. Condonation is the forgiveness or acceptance by one spouse of the other spouse's wrongful behavior that otherwise could be used as grounds for a divorce.
An example of condonation is a husband who does not object to his wife's adultery. If the husband sues his wife for divorce, claiming she has committed adultery, the wife may argue as a defense that her husband condoned her behavior.
The following are required for a court to find condonation and to deny a fault-based divorce:
- The condoning spouse knows about the other spouse's wrongful behavior
- The condoning spouse forgives the offending spouse
- The condoning spouse does not deny the offending spouse sexual relations
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 condonation as a defense.
If you want to bring up a defense against a fault-based divorce action, you may want to consult a divorce attorney for advice. An attorney can make sure that you completely understand the available defenses to a divorce in your state as well as any legal consequences.
Questions for your attorney
You may want to ask your attorney the following questions:
- How much experience do you have with divorce cases?
- Do you have references that I can contact, preferably divorce case clients?