Divorce Grounds

is a irreversible coma enough grounds for divorce?

my mate got married last year and now his wife is in a coma. he has found out that the coma is irreversible and he would like to know whether he can divorce the wife on any grounds. he didnt want to get married but his wife threatened to report his father to the police for benefit fraud unless my mate agreed to get married

Public Comments

1. If I were you I'd think hard about being with such a class act.
2. Not sure... but he could have her feeding tube yanked and slowly let her die, which would make him a widower. There's legal precident, remember? I never thought I'd I'd have to think about Terry Chiavo again...
3. till DEATH do they part.
4. Lack of sex is a recognized grounds.
5. Well I suppose it might be - but what sort of low life would do so? Besides - doctors have said people are unlikely to survive a coma before now and been proven wrong. Would anyone else want to marry a guy who couldn't be depended on?
6. There are about a million grounds for divorce that he could use. He could also have her declared legally dead in which case he wouldn't need a divorce because the marriage would end with her death. But it's not a good idea to terminate life support to get a divorce as that could be construed as murder and pretty much every religion in the world would have something nasty to say about it, too. How about denial of congical relations (lack of sex)? That's enough grounds for divorce in many states. Is this because he can't afford to pay her medical bills or because he has found somebody else?
7. Not sure if you can divorce on the grounds that she is in a coma, but it should be no more difficult to divorce her than anyone else. Consult a divorce attorney. And how in the world did Terry Shiavo come into this conversation, and her case had no precident (sic) on divorces at all.
8. Wow. It sounds as though your mate needs to mature a bit. He could've annulled the marriage (in the states) due to duress (her blackmailing him). Yes, I understand he was trying to protect his dad, however that's his Dad's job, not his. That aside, if he's in the states he can file a no fault divorce, however I doubt there will be any judge who would allow a divorce from a spouse who is comatose - no matter if he was "blackmailed" or not.
9. He probably can divorce her (depending upon the laws where he lives) BUT and this is a big but...because the coma occurred during the marriage and she is now HIS dependent, he will be responsible for her medical care and support most likely until the day she dies. By the way, I don't think much of your mate. Benefit fraud is nasty and so is dumping an incapacitated wife!!! If he is smart, he will not mention his reasons for marrying in the first place to the judge...but I doubt he is that smart!