Our Blogs

Our last two posts on acceptable examples of unreasonable behaviour have proven so popular that we thought we’d provide you with another five common examples that’re certain to be accepted as part of any divorce application:

Flirting with other people

Whilst some people are ok with their spouses flirting with other people, some find it completely unacceptable. If you fall into the latter camp and your spouse excessively flirts with others, you can cite this as an example of unreasonable behaviour.

You’ll need to have told your spouse that their flirtatious ways have upset you and to have asked them to change, of course, but if they’ve disregarded these requests, they’ve been unreasonable.

Not helping with the children

Anyone that has children will tell you how hard bringing them up can be. From ferrying them to various events, preparing meals, tending to cuts and bruises and everything else, a parent’s work is, quite literally, never done.

So, if your spouse isn’t sharing the workload that comes with having children and you’ve asked for help only to find that none’s been forthcoming, you have an example of unreasonable behaviour that’s guaranteed to be accepted by the courts.

Excessive drinking

People who drink to excess are, we all know, regularly violent and abusive. This, though, is not always the case and, whilst many assume that excessive drinking will only be an acceptable example of unreasonable behaviour when it has resulted in domestic abuse, this is not true.

Drinking to excess is problematic for a number of reasons even if the guilty spouse does not resort to violence whilst intoxicated. It is certain to have a negative effect on their health, for example. Alternatively, it could lead to them being incapable of completing various tasks around the home.

The simple fact is that if you feel your spouse drinks too much, you’ve told them this and they’ve not changed their habits, the courts will accept that their drinking is, in and of itself, unreasonable.

Refusing to relocate

Whilst it’ll need to be linked to a good reason for you wanting to relocate such as a job offer or because you want your child/ren to attend a specialist school, it’s perfectly acceptable to inform the courts that you felt your spouse was behaving unreasonably when they refused to relocate with you.

Working long hours

Yes, it can be necessary to work long hours at times. If you and your spouse are saving for a big purchase or they’re looking for a promotion at their place of work, for example, then it can be in your best interests that you both work long and hard. At other times, though, people prioritise their work to the detriment of their marriage and, provided you’ve told your spouse that you think they spend too much time at work and you’d like them to spend a bit more at home but they didn’t listen, this too is an acceptable example of unreasonable behaviour.