Divorce in the US and UK

Divorce is legal in the US and UK. A husband or wife can get a divorce for reasons of adultery, unreasonable behaviour such as mental or physical cruelty, desertion (= when one of them leaves) or separation (= when they no longer live together).
Some married couple prefer a divorce in which neither the husband nor the wife is blamed for the end of the marriage. In this case they usually get a no-fault divorce, which is allowed in most US states and in the UK. In both countries, a special court decides how to divide the couple’s property between them, and who will get custody of their children (= the legal right to take care of them). If one of the couple is financially dependent on the other, the court will usually order the other to pay alimony (Am E) or maintenance (Br E). In the US a court also decides how much child support a husband or wife should pay to help support their children. In the UK, however, a government organization called the CSA (Child Support Agency) decides how much maintenance should be paid.
Today in the UK around 40% of the marriages end in divorce, and in the US the figure is almost as high as 50 %.