In England & Wales, there are 5 legal reasons why you can submit an application for divorce. These grounds for divorce are:

1) Adultery but this is not available to same sex couples.
2) Unreasonable Behaviour.
3) Two-Year Separation – requires consent from both sides.
4) Five-Year Separation – does not require consent from both sides.
5) Desertion.

Scotland operates a two-level divorce proceeding. The standard divorce is similar to that in England & Wales but a simplified divorce proceeding is available where the marriage has no children under the age of 16 and there are no contended joint financial assets. In this situation grounds are:

1) One-Year separation – requires consent from both sides
2) Two-Year separation – does not require consent from both sides.