Grounds are not a formality
Arkansas does not have a true no-fault divorce, and irreconcilable differences is not a ground here. That surprises almost everyone. The law sets out seven grounds: six based on fault, and one based on separation, where spouses have lived separate and apart without cohabitation for eighteen continuous months. On that last one it does not matter whose fault the separation was, or whether it was voluntary.
Which ground you file on shapes the case from the first document. We will go through your situation and tell you which one fits, rather than filing something generic and dealing with it later. Two things worth knowing early: a covenant marriage has its own stricter grounds, and the cause you rely on generally has to have arisen within five years of filing, so a very old grievance may not be available.
What gets divided, and what does not
Arkansas divides property equitably rather than treating everything as community property, but the starting point is firm. Marital property is divided one half to each spouse unless the court finds an equal division would be inequitable, and if the court divides it unequally it has to say why in the order.
Property you owned before the marriage, or received by gift or inheritance, is generally returned to you, as is any increase in its value. The court does keep some discretion here, so it is not accurate to say separate property is always untouchable. The argument in most cases is not about the rule but about tracing: money that was kept separate is far easier to show than money that went through a joint account for a decade. Debts are part of the same exercise, which people routinely forget until it comes up.
Before you can file
One of you has to have lived in Arkansas for sixty days before the case is filed, and there has to be three full months of residence in the state before the court will enter a decree. The law also sets a floor on speed: no divorce decree can be granted until at least thirty days have passed since the complaint was filed.
In practice the three month residency requirement, not the thirty day rule, is usually what governs how quickly a straightforward case can finish.
Where your case is heard
Independence County sits in the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit. Sharp County sits in the Third. If you live in one and your spouse lives in the other, that is worth raising at the first meeting.
If there are children
Custody and support run alongside the divorce rather than after it. If that is your situation, our page on child custody and support covers how Arkansas approaches it.