• Irretrievably brokenschale image by Ewe Degiampietro from Fotolia.com
  
  Montana law provides for divorce, termed the "legal dissolution of marriage," in order to address the reality of failure in marital relationships. Under Montana law divorce is based only on irretrievable breakdown of a marriage. The stated purpose of Montana family law is to uphold and strengthen marriage and family relationships and to provide for amicable settlement of disputes and mitigation of harm to family members.
  
  

Residency Requirements

• In order to file for divorce in Montana, either you or your spouse must have been a Montana resident ("domiciled") or a member of the armed forces stationed in Montana for at least 90 days before the divorce is filed.
  
  

Basic Requirements

• To obtain a divorce, you will need to prove to the satisfaction of the district court that your marriage is "irretrievably broken." Your first option is to live separately for 180 days or more before the beginning of the court proceedings. Your second option is to convince the court to determine that there is serious marital discord that adversely affects the attitude of you, your spouse or both of you to the marriage. You will need to provide evidence for either option. In addition, the court must address the Montana Conciliation Law to determine either that its provisions have been met or that they do not apply. The court must also attend to issues of support and parenting of children entitled to support, maintenance of spouses and disposition of property. You can also ask for a decree of legal separation. To grant a legal separation, the court only needs to determine that your spouse does not object.
  
  

Montana Conciliation Law

• The Montana Conciliation Law allows a district court to function as "conciliation court" to promote amicable settlement of marital and domestic disputes before they lead to divorce. Under this law, you or your spouse or both of you can file a petition to ask the court to help you reconcile or settle amicably without litigation. You cannot file for divorce while a petition for conciliation is pending and for 30 days after the petition hearing. In addition, the court can transfer your divorce case to conciliation court if it determines that a minor child or children may be adversely affected and there is a reasonable chance for reconciliation.
  
  

Irretrievable Breakdown

• You can meet the legal requirement for determining that your marriage is irretrievably broken if you and your spouse are both willing to make a statement to that effect before the court by oath or affirmation. If you or your spouse states before the court that the marriage is not irretrievably broken, the court will consider relevant factors. The court can decide that there is no reasonable hope of reconciliation and the marriage is irretrievably broken. Alternatively, the court can continue the case for 30 to 60 days and suggest counseling or order a conciliation conference.
  
  

Joint Petition

• If you and your spouse are in agreement that your marriage is irretrievably broken, you can petition jointly for a divorce if your situation on the date you begin the proceedings meets several conditions in addition to the residency requirements. You and your spouse must either have no minor children and the wife must not be pregnant or you must have agreed on a court-approved plan for parenting and support of any children born or adopted during your relationship before or during your marriage. You and your spouse must meet the limitations on debts and assets specified in the law and have an agreement for division of property. Both of you must waive any right to maintenance and rights to appeal once the divorce is entered. You must also read and understand a brochure issued by the district court in which you file the petition.
  
  

Forms and Guides

• To obtain the forms you need to file for divorce use the State Law Library page on Ending Your Marriage. (See Resources) You can use the questionnaire to determine what forms you need or you can select the appropriate packet from the listing there.