Vermont Statutes Annotated

Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 15, § 551 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section VT-LEGlegislature.vermont.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

Subchapter 002 : DIVORCE

(Cite as: 15 V.S.A. § 551)

§ 551. Grounds for divorce from bond of matrimony

A divorce from the bond of matrimony may be decreed:

(1) for adultery in either party;

(2) when either party is sentenced to confinement at hard labor in the State prison in this State for life, or for three years or more, and is actually confined at the time of the bringing of the libel; or when either party being without the State, receives a sentence for an equally long term of imprisonment by a competent court having jurisdiction as the result of a trial in any one of the other states of the United States, or in a federal court, or in any one of the territories, possessions, or other courts subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, or in a foreign country granting a trial by jury, and is actually confined at the time of the bringing of the libel;

(3) for intolerable severity in either party;

(4) for willful desertion or when either party has been absent for seven years and not heard of during that time;

(5) on complaint of either party when one spouse has sufficient pecuniary or physical ability to provide suitable maintenance for the other and, without cause, persistently refuses or neglects so to do;

(6) on the ground of permanent incapacity due to a mental condition or psychiatric disability of either party, as provided for in sections 631-637 of this title; or

(7) when a married person has lived apart from his or her spouse for six consecutive months and the court finds that the resumption of marital relations is not reasonably probable. (Amended 1969, No. 264 (Adj. Sess.), § 1; 1971, No. 39, eff. May 1, 1971; 1971, No. 238 (Adj. Sess.), § 1, eff. April 6, 1972; 1973, No. 201 (Adj. Sess.), § 9; 2013, No. 96 (Adj. Sess.), § 69.)

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 34 cases, 1967–2018 · leading case: Emmons v. Emmons, 450 A.2d 1113 (Vt. 1982).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Emmons v. Emmons, 450 A.2d 1113 (Vt. 1982). · cites it 16× “15 V.S.A. § 551(4). It seems likely, therefore, that the trial court employed "abandoned" in its broader, generic sense, that is, to forsake, leave, or desert, "as a person to whom one owes [a] duty.”

Nickerson v. Nickerson, 605 A.2d 1331 (Vt. 1992). · cites it 4× “Nevertheless, mere physical custody by one of two fit parents, during the time the estranged spouses live "apart" to satisfy the no-fault divorce requirements, should not in itself cause a former primary-care-provider to lose that status.”

Michael D.C. v. Wanda L.C., 497 S.E.2d 531 (W. Va. 1997). “§ 30-3-1 (3)(b) (1995); Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 15, § 551 (1) (1989); Va.”

LeBlanc v. LeBlanc, 2014 VT 65 (Vt. 2014). · cites it 2× “See 15 V.S.A. § 551(7). ¶ 17. Mother moved for reconsideration, challenging the court’s custody award and its visitation schedule.”

Conley v. Crisafulli, 2010 VT 38 (Vt. 2010). “See 15 V.S.A. § 551(7) (stating that divorce may be granted “[w]hen a married person has lived apart from his or her spouse for six consecutive months and the court finds that the resumption of marital relations is not reasonably probable”).”

Scott v. Scott, 586 A.2d 1140 (Vt. 1990). · cites it 2× “Plaintiff had initially filed for divorce by alleging an anticipatory separation, meaning that by the time of the final hearing the six-month living apart period required by 15 V.S.A. § 551(7) would have occurred. At the hearing on the motion to expedite, plaintiff represented…”

Johnson v. Johnson, 580 A.2d 503 (Vt. 1990). “The court granted the divorce on the ground that the parties had lived separate and apart for a period in excess of six months and a resumption of marital relations was not reasonably probable, in accordance with 15 V.S.A. § 551(7). The court accepted the parties’ stipulation…”

Samis v. Samis, 2011 VT 21 (Vt. 2011). “Following evidentiary hearings on the matter of the divorce, the court granted the no-fault divorce petition under 15 V.S.A. § 551(7), finding that the guardian, on behalf of wife, established that she and husband had “lived separate and apart for a period of six consecutive…”

Krupp v. Krupp, 236 A.2d 653 (Vt. 1967). “15 V.S.A. §551(7). The case is here on appeal by the libelant from findings of fact and the judgmexit order of the court dismissing the libel.”

DeGrace v. DeGrace, 520 A.2d 987 (Vt. 1986). “15 V.S.A. § 551(7). A final order and judgment were issued on August 1, 1984.”

Buttura v. Buttura, 463 A.2d 229 (Vt. 1983). “15 V.S.A. § 551 (7). Although defendant does not contest the issuance of the divorce, he does contest the trial court’s order directing him to pay plaintiff $15,000, in six installments of $2,500 each, “in full satisfaction of all claims for alimony, property settlement and suit…”

Mandigo v. Mandigo, 266 A.2d 434 (Vt. 1970). · cites it 3× “Attention might well be called to the fact that since this case was heard and disposed of below, the policy of the State with regard to the cause of a divorce under 15 V.S.A. Section 551, sub-section 7 was changed by the adjourned session of the 1969 Legislature.”

Show all 34 citing cases →

— Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 15, § 551(3) — 1 case

Winslow v. Winslow, 251 A.2d 419 (Vt. 1969).

— Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 15, § 551(4) — 1 case

Emmons v. Emmons, 450 A.2d 1113 (Vt. 1982). “15 V.S.A. § 551(4). It seems likely, therefore, that the trial court employed "abandoned" in its broader, generic sense, that is, to forsake, leave, or desert, "as a person to whom one owes [a] duty.”

— Vt. Stat. Ann. tit. 15, § 551(7) — 27 cases

Emmons v. Emmons, 450 A.2d 1113 (Vt. 1982). “15 V.S.A. § 551(4). It seems likely, therefore, that the trial court employed "abandoned" in its broader, generic sense, that is, to forsake, leave, or desert, "as a person to whom one owes [a] duty.”

Nickerson v. Nickerson, 605 A.2d 1331 (Vt. 1992). “Nevertheless, mere physical custody by one of two fit parents, during the time the estranged spouses live "apart" to satisfy the no-fault divorce requirements, should not in itself cause a former primary-care-provider to lose that status.”

LeBlanc v. LeBlanc, 2014 VT 65 (Vt. 2014). “See 15 V.S.A. § 551(7). ¶ 17. Mother moved for reconsideration, challenging the court’s custody award and its visitation schedule.”

Conley v. Crisafulli, 2010 VT 38 (Vt. 2010). “See 15 V.S.A. § 551(7) (stating that divorce may be granted “[w]hen a married person has lived apart from his or her spouse for six consecutive months and the court finds that the resumption of marital relations is not reasonably probable”).”

Scott v. Scott, 586 A.2d 1140 (Vt. 1990). “Plaintiff had initially filed for divorce by alleging an anticipatory separation, meaning that by the time of the final hearing the six-month living apart period required by 15 V.S.A. § 551(7) would have occurred. At the hearing on the motion to expedite, plaintiff represented…”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.