MinnesotaLawyer.com
2025 Session Last amended: 2024 session

§ 518.06 — Dissolution of Marriage; Legal Separation; Grounds; Uncontested Legal Separation

Plain-Language Summary

Minnesota is a no-fault divorce state. A court will grant a divorce (called 'dissolution of marriage') when it finds the marriage is broken beyond repair. Old-fashioned defenses like adultery or cruelty are no longer used. A legal separation is different from divorce because it does not end the marriage.

518.06 DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE; LEGAL SEPARATION; GROUNDS; UNCONTESTED LEGAL SEPARATION.

§

Subdivision 1.Meaning and effect; grounds.

A dissolution of marriage is the termination of the marital relationship between spouses. A decree of dissolution completely terminates the marital status of both parties. A legal separation is a court determination of the rights and responsibilities of a husband and wife arising out of the marital relationship. A decree of legal separation does not terminate the marital status of the parties. A dissolution of a marriage shall be granted by a county or district court when the court finds that there has been an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage relationship.

A decree of legal separation shall be granted when the court finds that one or both parties need a legal separation.

Defenses to divorce, dissolution and legal separation, including but not limited to condonation, connivance, collusion, recrimination, insanity, and lapse of time, are abolished. §

Subd. 2.

[Repealed, 1978 c 772 s 63] §

If one or both parties petition for a decree of legal separation and neither party contests the granting of the decree nor petitions for a decree of dissolution, the court shall grant a decree of legal separation.

History:

(8585) RL s 3574; 1909 c 443 s 1; 1927 c 304 s 1; 1933 c 262 s 1; 1933 c 324; Ex1933 c 78 s 1; 1935 c 295 s 1; 1941 c 406 s 1; 1951 c 637 s 1; 1969 c 764 s 1; 1971 c 177 s 1; 1974 c 107 s 4; 1978 c 772 s 22,23; 1979 c 259 s 4,5; 2024 c 101 art 3 s 2

History: History: (8585) RL s 3574; 1909 c 443 s 1; 1927 c 304 s 1; 1933 c 262 s 1; 1933 c 324; Ex1933 c 78 s 1; 1935 c 295 s 1; 1941 c 406 s 1; 1951 c 637 s 1; 1969 c 764 s 1; 1971 c 177 s 1; 1974 c 107 s 4; 1978 c 772 s 22,23; 1979 c 259 s 4,5; 2024 c 101 art 3 s 2

Practical Notes
When this applies: When one or both spouses want to end a marriage or get a legal separation. Who this affects: Married couples in Minnesota. Key points: You do not need to prove your spouse did something wrong. The only legal ground for divorce is ‘irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.’ If both spouses agree the marriage is over, the court will accept that. A legal separation keeps you legally married but settles rights and responsibilities like property and support.
Source: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes