section_path: Divorce and annulment
section_name: Divorce and annulment
paragraph_text: Divorce and annulment
  
  In most societies, the death of one of the partners terminates the marriage, and in monogamous societies, this allows the other partner to remarry, though sometimes after a waiting or mourning period.
  
  In some societies, a marriage can be annulled, when an authority declares that a marriage never happened. Jurisdictions often have provisions for void marriages or voidable marriages.
  
  A marriage may also be terminated through divorce. Countries that have relatively recently legalized divorce are Italy (1970), Portugal (1975), Brazil (1977), Spain (1981), Argentina (1987), Paraguay (1991), Colombia (1991), Ireland (1996), Chile (2004) and Malta (2011). As of 2012, the Philippines and the Vatican City are the only jurisdictions which do not allow divorce (this is currently under discussion in Philippines). After divorce, one spouse may have to pay alimony. Laws concerning divorce and the ease with which a divorce can be obtained vary widely around the world. After a divorce or an annulment, the people concerned are free to remarry (or marry).
  
  A statutory right of two married partners to mutually consent to divorce was enacted in western nations in the mid-20th century. In the United States, no-fault divorce was first enacted in California in 1969 and the final state to legalize it was New York in 1989.
  
  About 45% of marriages in Britain and, according to a 2009 study, 46% of marriages in the U.S. end in divorce.