Even with a variety of difficulties already marking the divorce process, some people are pushing for laws to make divorces more difficult to obtain. These advocates believe the institution of marriage needs to be saved from such modern developments as the no-fault divorce. Many of those proposing change want to require couples with minor children to complete divorce education curricula and then observe long periods of reconciliation and reflection before divorce petitions could be filed.
According to one expert, however, divorce is already difficult enough. Making divorce tougher could lead to families in prolonged crisis and family finances in ruins.
Instead of making divorce harder, the expert says, it would be better to promote less adversarial ways to end marriages such as collaborative law and mediation. These methods allow divorcing individuals to have more control over their divorces and often result in child-centered outcomes that are better for all parties.
Spouses who are currently in the middle of divorce face a thicket of legal terms and jargon that are often hard to understand. Without clearly understanding divorce terms and processes, a spouse can make poor decisions based purely on emotion. Therefore, even under the current system people should make sure they understand all their rights and options when they are considering divorce.
Source: The Huffington Post, “Permission to divorce,” Margaret Klaw, April 25, 2014
