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felony after marriage; (4) inhuman treatment endangering the life of the other spouse; (5) habitual drunkenness after marriage; (6) wife pregnant at time of marriage without the husband's knowledge or agency, unless the husband has an illegitimate child, or children, then living.

Procedure: The plaintiff must have been domiciled in the state for the period of one year before commencing the action. The trial may be had before the court, and in open court, after the expiration of three months from the time of service on the defendant. The decree does not become absolute or permit either party to marry again until the expiration of one year from the date it is rendered.17

$240. Kansas.

Causes: (1) A former husband or wife living, undivorced; (2) abandonment for the period of one year; (3) adultery; (4) impotency; (5) pregnancy of the wife at the time of the marriage by another than the husband; (6) extreme cruelty; (7) fraudulent contract of marriage; (8) habitual drunkenness; (9) gross neglect of duty; (10) conviction and imprisonment in the penitentiary for felony subsequent to the marriage.

Procedure: The action may be commenced after the plaintiff has been domiciled in the state for the period of one year. The trial may be had before the court after the expiration of two months from the time of service on the defendant. The first decree is nisi, and neither party can marry until it be comes absolute, at the end of six months from the date of the nisi decree.18

$241. Kentucky.

Causes: (1) Abandonment for the period of one year; (2) living in adultery; (3) condemnation for felony; (4) concealing loathsome disease at the time of the marriage, or contracting one afterwards; (5) force, fraud or duress in pro

17. Revised Code of Iowa, 1907; Laws of 1913; Graves v. Graves, 132 Iowa 199, 109 N. W. 707, 10 L. R. A. (N. S.) 216; Lawrence V. Nelson, 113 Iowa 277, 85 N. W. 84, 57 L. R. A. 583; Wood v. Wood, 136 Iowa 128, 113 N. W. 492, 12 L. R. A. (N. S.) 891; Tollefson v. Tollefson, 137

Iowa 151, 114 N. W. 631.

18. Dassler's General Statutes of Kansas, 1909; Masterman V. Masterman, 58 Kan. 748, 51 Pac. 277; Dunn v. Dunn, 59 Kan. 773, 52 Pac. 69; Roberts v. Fagan, 76 Kan. 536, 92 Pac. 559; Durland v. Durland, 67 Kan. 734, 74 Pac. 274, 63 L. R. A. 959.

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curing marriage; (6) uniting with a religious society which forbids husband and wife from cohabiting, or the rules of which require a renunciation of the marriage covenant; (7) such impotency or malformation as prevents sexual intercourse; (8) living apart without cohabitation for five consecutive years; (9) habitual drunkenness for the period of one year; (10) husband guilty of such conduct as to endanger the life or health of the wife; (11) pregnancy of the wife at the time of the marriage without the husband's knowledge or agency, or such lascivious behaviour on her part as proves her to be unchaste; (12) habitual drunkenness of wife for one year if the husband is not also guilty of like cause; (13) husband guilty of such conduct as indicates aversion, or destroys peace and happiness.

Procedure: The action may be commenced after the plaintiff has been domiciled in the state for the period of one year. The trial may be had in from three to six months after service on the defendant, before the court of chancery. The court must appoint an attorney to defend all uncontested cases. The action must be brought within five years after the act committed, and the act for which divorce is sought must have been committed in Kentucky, or, if outside of that state, it must be cause for absolute divorce in the state where it was committed.19

$242. Louisiana.

Causes: (1) Adultery; (2) condemnation to infamous punishment; (3) habitual intemperance, excesses, cruel treatment or outrages of one spouse towards the other, such as to render their living together unsupportable; (4) public defamation; (5) abandonment; (6) attempts of one against the life of the other; (7) one charged with infamous offenses, fleeing from justice. In all cases except adultery, or sentence to an infamous punishment, no divorce absolute shall be granted unless a separation from bed and board is first obtained, and

19.

136

Revised Statutes of Ken

tucky, 1909; Williams v. Williams,
Ky. 71, 123 S. W. 337;
Baker v. Baker, 136 Ky. 617, 124
S. W. 866; Coles v. Coles, 130 Ky.
349,
113 S. W. 417; Barclay v.

Commonwealth, 116 Ky. 275, 76
S. W. 4; Sebastian v. Rose, 135
Ky. 197, 122 S. W. 120; Parker v.

'Parker, 31 Ky. 197, 122 S. W. 120; Parker v. Parker, 31 Ky. L. Sep. 1228, 104 S. W. 1028; Pope v. Pope, 170 S. W. 504; Davis V. Davis, 102 Ky. 440, 43 S. W. 168, 39 L. R. A. 403; Andrews v. Andrews, 120 Ky. 718, 87 S. W. 1080.

two years shall have expired from the date of the decree of separation, and no reconciliation shall have taken place.

Procedure: The courts of Louisiana have no jurisdiction to grant divorce unless the parties, during the marriage relation, have lived as husband and wife in the state. Unless the ground is adultery or an infamous offense, the first action, which may be commenced after a domicile of one year, must be for a divorce from bed and board. If the defendant fails to return to the matrimonial home for a period of one year after being summoned to do so, after the expiration of two years from the date of the decree for divorce from bed and board, an action for absolute divorce may be instituted by the plaintiff. Trial is had before the court after the expiration of three months from the time of service on the defendant. The wife cannot marry again for ten months after absolute divorce. The guilty party cannot marry his or her paramour.20

$243. Maine.

Causes: (1) Adultery; (2) impotency; (3) extreme cruelty; (4) utter desertion continued for the period of three years; (5) confirmed habits of intoxication; (6) cruel and abusive physical treatment; (7) husband, being able, grossly and wantonly neglects to provide maintenance for the wife; (8) insanity when in consequence thereof the defendant has been committed to and confined in a state asylum for the insane for fifteen consecutive years next preceding the commencement of the action, and if found to be incurable.

Procedure: The action may be commenced after the plaintiff has been domiciled in the state for the period of one year. The trial may be had in from four to six months after service on the defendant, depending on terms of court. Either party

20. Revised Laws of Louisiana, 1910; Revised Civil Code of Louisiana, 1909; State V. Boettner, 53 So. 555; Nissen V. Farquar, 121 La. 119, 44 So. 799; Elmore v. Johnson, 121 La. 277, 46 So. 310; Rohr v. Stechman, 119 La. 159, 43 So. 991; Succession of Gabisso, 119 L. A. 1035, 44 So. 856, 11 L. R. A. (N. S.) 1082; Wilcox v. Nixon, 115 La.

47, 38 So. 890, 112 Am. St. R. 266; Ellerbusch v. Koegel, 108 La. 51, 32 So. 191; Hill v. Hill, 114 La. 117, 38 So. 77; Cornelia v. Cornelia, 114 L. A. 950, 38 So. 690; Ramond V. Carrano, 112 La. 869, 36 So. 787; Blake v. Dudley, 111 La. 1096, 36 So. 203; Nichols v. Maddox, 52 La. An. 1493, 27 So. 966.

may demand a jury trial. The plaintiff must have resided in the state when the cause occurred.21

$244. Maryland.

Causes: (1) Impotency; (2) any cause which by the laws of the state render the marriage null and void ab initio; (3) adultery; (4) deliberate and final abandonment for the period of three years; (5) illicit carnal intercourse of the wife with a man, other than the husband, before marriage without the husband's knowledge.

Procedure: The action may be commenced at any time if the cause of action was committed in the state. Otherwise either the plaintiff or the defendant must have had a domicile in the state for the period of two years before commencement of the action. The cause may be tried and determined after the expiration of five months from the commencement of the action. Trial is had on the equity side of the court.22

$245. Massachusetts.

Causes: (1) Adultery; (2) impotency; (3) utter desertion continued for three consecutive years next preceding commencement of the action; (4) gross and confirmed habit of intoxication; (5) cruel and abusive treatment; (6) neglect of husband to provide suitable maintenance for the wife when of sufficient ability so to do; (7) sentence to confinement at hard labor for life or five years or more, in the state prison, jail or house of correction.

Procedure: If the parties have ever lived as husband and wife in Massachusetts, the action may be commenced after either party has had a domicile of three years in the state, otherwise the plaintiff must have been domiciled in the state for the period of five years before commencing the action.

The trial may be had two months after service on the defendant. The first decree is nisi, and does not dissolve the marriage, or allow either party to marry again. An absolute divorce may be entered six months after the nisi decree, if no

21. Revised Statutes of Maine, 1903; Walker v. Walker, 89 Atl. 373; Leathers v. Leathers, 79 Atl. 16; Spinney v. Spinney, 87 Me. 484, 32 Atl. 1019.

22. Public General Laws of

Maryland, 1904; Wheeler V.
Wheeler, 101 Md. 435, 61 Atl.
216; McSherry v. McSherry, 77
Atl. 653; Adams v. Adams, 101
Md. 506, 61 Atl. 628.

cause is shown to the contrary. The guilty party cannot marry for two years after the absolute divorce is entered.28

$246. Michigan.

Causes: (1) Adultery; (2) impotency at the time of the marriage; (3) imprisonment for three years in any prison, jail or house of correction; (4) habitual drunkenness; (5) defendant having obtained a divorce in another state; (6) desertion for two years; (7) neglect and refusal of the husband to support the wife when of sufficient ability so to do; (8) extreme cruelty.

Procedure: Unless the defendant is domiciled in the state and served therein with process when the suit is filed, or the parties have lived together as husband and wife in Michigan, suit cannot be commenced until the plaintiff has been domiciled in the state two years. Except for the cause of desertion, the trial cannot be had until the expiration of two months from the time of commencement of the suit. The hearing is had in the court of chancery, in open court, unless the court orders a reference to a circuit court commissioner or other person authorized to administer oaths, to take the testimony. In all cases where there are minor children service of process must be made on the prosecuting attorney of the county where the suit is pending. The court may order the prosecuting attorney to appear in any uncontested case.24

$247. Minnesota.

Causes: (1) Adultery; (2) impotency; (3) cruel and inhuman treatment; (4) sentence to imprisonment in any state prison or state reformatory subsequent to the marriage; (5) wilful desertion for one year.

23. Revised Laws of Massachusetts, 1902 and Supp. 1908; Commonwealth V. Stevens, 196 Mass. 280, 82 N. E. 33, 124 Am. St. R. 555; Whippen v. Whippen, 171 Mass. 560, 51 N. E. 174; Chace v. Chace, 191 Mass. 166, 77 N. E. 782; Tyler v. Tyler, 170 Mass. 150, 48 N. E. 1075; Brown v. Brown, 93 N. E. 607; Franklin v. Franklin, 190 Mass. 349, 77 N. E. 48, 4 L. R. A. (N. S.)

145; Winans v. Winans, 205 Mass. 388, 91 N. E. 394, 28 L. R. A. (N. S.) 992.

24. C. L. 1915, (11433); How. 2nd. Ed., $11494; Filer v. Filer, 77 Mich. 469, 43 N. W. 887; Coon v. Coon, 129 N. W. 12; Bradfield v. Bradfield, 154 Mich. 115, 117 N. W. 588; Jamison v. Ramsey, 128 Mich. 315, 87 N. W. 260; Bentley v. Hosmer, 110 Mich. 626, 68 N. W. 650, 69 N. W. 660.

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