What are the grounds for absolute divorce in Tennessee? Grounds must be proven or agreed. Grounds for divorce include the following:

Either party, at the time of the contract, was and still is naturally impotent and incapable of procreation;

Either party has knowingly entered into a second marriage, in violation of a previous marriage, still subsisting;

Either party has committed adultery;

Willful or malicious desertion or absence of either party, without a reasonable cause, for one (1) whole year;

Being convicted of any crime which, by the laws of the state, renders the party infamous;

Being convicted of a crime which, by the laws of the state, is declared to be a felony, and sentenced to confinement in the penitentiary;

Either party has attempted the life of the other, by poison or any other means showing malice;

Refusal, on the part of a spouse, to remove with that person's spouse to this state, without a reasonable cause, and being willfully absent from the spouse residing in Tennessee for two (2) years;

The wife was pregnant at the time of the marriage, by another person, without the knowledge of the husband;

Habitual drunkenness or abuse of narcotic drugs by either party, when the spouse has contracted either such habit after marriage;

Irreconcilable differences between the parties;

For a continuous period of two (2) or more years which commenced prior to or after April 18, 1985, both parties have lived in separate residences, the parties have not cohabitated as man and wife during such period, and there are no minor children of the parties;

The husband or wife is guilty of such cruel and inhuman treatment or conduct towards the spouse as renders cohabitation unsafe and improper, which may also be referred to in pleadings as inappropriate marital conduct;

The husband has offered such indignities to the wife's person as to render the wife's condition intolerable, and thereby forced the wife to withdraw; and

The husband has abandoned the wife, or turned the wife out of doors, and refused or neglected to provide for the wife.

How long does a divorce take? A mutual-consent, no-fault divorce takes about two to six months right now. There is a 60 day "cooling -off" period after the complaint is filed, if there are no children. If the parties have children, it takes a minimum of 90 days. A contested divorce can last years, with the average contest lasting a year or more. Finally, if the parties agree to divide a pension, it might take an additional 60 to 180 days after the divorce is granted to complete the division.