42-361 Marriage irretrievably broken; findings. - Nebraska Statutes

42-361. Marriage irretrievably broken; findings.(1) If both of the parties state under oath or affirmation that the marriage is irretrievably broken, or one of the parties so states and the other does not deny it, the court, after hearing, shall make a finding whether the marriage is irretrievably broken.(2) If one of the parties has denied under oath or affirmation that the marriage is irretrievably broken, the court shall consider all relevant factors, including the circumstances that gave rise to the filing of the complaint and the prospect of reconciliation, and shall make a finding whether the marriage is irretrievably broken. SourceLaws 1972, LB 820, § 15; Laws 2004, LB 1207, § 24. AnnotationsPursuant to subsection (1) of this section, dissolutions of marriage require that a hearing be conducted in open court and that oral testimony of witnesses or depositions of witnesses be received into evidence; relying upon pleadings alone is insufficient. Brunges v. Brunges, 255 Neb. 837, 587 N.W.2d 554 (1998).A court must be presented with some form of evidence, be it oral testimony or depositions, in order to make a meaningful finding whether a marriage is irretrievably broken. Wilson v. Wilson, 238 Neb. 219, 469 N.W.2d 750 (1991).In a case where the evidence was undisputed that the parties had not lived together for a long period of time, the trial court was correct in finding that the parties' marriage was irretrievably broken. Witcig v. Witcig, 206 Neb. 307, 292 N.W.2d 788 (1980).The finding that marriage was irretrievably broken based upon criminal history of defendant and plaintiff's categorical refusal to effect reconciliation was not unreasonable. Condreay v. Condreay, 190 Neb. 513, 209 N.W.2d 357 (1973).