Abandonment in divorce law can be defined as any intentional and long-term desertion of one's legal and familial duties to a spouse or dependent. In some cases, abandonment, which is also referred to as desertion, may occur as part of a move to make a permanent separation. In other cases, the abandonment is without just cause, consent, or legality, and if this is the case, a spouse may be deemed to have committed malicious abandonment. In the case of abandonment of dependents, depending on the circumstances, criminal charges may be filed for child abandonment.