New law on NC Divorce Requirements - Have to wait TWO YEARS

Ever heard of Senate Bill 518?        NO?

Ok…how about the Healthy Marriage Act?       MAYBE?

Well…what about the shocking, newly-proposed law that would bump up the waiting period before one can file for divorce in North Carolina from one year to TWO WHOLE YEARS along with some other unusual new requirements?       I bet you heard at least something about that, right?!

On April 1st, 2013 (no – it’s not an April Fool’s joke!), Senate Bill 518 - Healthy Marriage Act was introduced to the North Carolina General Assembly by primary sponsor Senator Austin Allran (co-sponsored by Senators Warren Daniel and Norman Sanderson).

While most hot topics/controversial issues usually have a fair amount of support on each side, it seems that virtually everyone and their neighbor were up in arms as soon as they heard about this proposed Bill last month.

First, click here for N.C.G.S. §50-6 and here for N.C.G.S. §50-8 for the current laws for filing the main type of divorce in North Carolina. The major, most commonly-known requirement is that the parties must live separate and apart for one year with the intention of at least one party to end the marital relationship. Now enter the Healthy Marriage Act, or probably better coined the Unhealthy Marriage Act as you will soon see. 

SO WHAT ARE THE KEY PROPOSED CHANGES THAT HAS CAUSED SUCH A STIR?

• The parties would need to wait two years before either could file for divorce. Interestingly, the parties would no longer be required to live separate and apart!
• The party who wants the divorce would need to actually send a written, notarized "notice of intent" to the other side before the waiting period would even begin
• During the waiting period parties must complete "courses" on conflict resolution and "improving communication skills." Certainly not together as a couple, but still...
• During the waiting period, if the parties have a child they must each attend an additional course of at least four hours on the "impact of divorce on children." There is no clarification in the proposed statutory language of whether such course is identical to, and thus replaces, the parenting apart classes already required in most counties through the mandatory mediation process when parties have a litigated custody matter

WHY THE PUSH 
FOR THIS NEW LEGISLATION?

Senator Allran is apparently interested in promoting healthy marriages, hence the title of the Bill, and claims that North Carolina has too many divorces. Specifically he said that we have a "very high divorce rate…one of the worst…and it’s probably because we’ve been lax in our divorce laws…made it too easy."

First of all, there’s nothing "easy" about having to wait one long year before separated spouses can finally then embark on an additional 2-month process (depending on the county) of getting divorced. Or fretting that whole year that certain actions they take may be deemed a resumption of the marital relationship that can possibly reset the 1-year clock. Almost all of my clients over the past decade can attest to either or both.

Second, it just seems incredulous if not misguided to think that extending the wait time on divorce filings so drastically (by 100%!) is going to make estranged spouses reconsider divorce or that it would otherwise encourage the institution of marriage. If it’s over, it’s over. And usually because the marriage is no longer a healthy one.

But more importantly, it is disingenuous or otherwise careless to make such statements regarding the divorce rates when it appears the numbers say otherwise. Comprehensive tables on divorce rate trends put out by reputable federal agencies basically blow his claims out of the water. For the most recently-reported figures, as compiled by the National Center for Health Statistics and the National Vital Statistics System, click here (for national) and here (state by state). All rates are per 1,000 total population residing in area. What’s worth noting from these charts?

• There has actually been a continual downward trend in the number of North Carolina divorces over the past couple decades!
• 5.1 in 1990
• 4.5 in 2000 
• 3.8 from 2008-2010 
• 3.7 in 2011
• Going just by the 2011 and 2010 figures, there were 21 and 19 states, respectively, with divorce rates higher than North Carolina! 
• Regarding who appears to have the "worst" divorce rates, looks like Allran really needs to head over to Nevada (5.6), Arkansas (5.3), Oklahoma (5.2), West Virginia (5.2), Idaho (4.9), Alaska (4.8), and Florida (4.5), just to name a few! 
• As for comparison to the national average divorce rates, hopefully anyone can agree that North Carolina’s 3.7 is pretty darn close to the US’s 3.6! 

   WHAT'S WITH THE TITLE OF THIS POST? 
DID THIS BILL ACTUALLY BECOME LAW?!

This Bill was introduced to the General Assembly last month but that was merely what is called passing the first reading - there is still a long road ahead before a bill becomes a law. Ok I couldn't resist also including the conveniently relevant reference to an old classic - Schoolhouse Rock: I'm Just a Bill video!

May 16, 2013 was the legislative "crossover deadline" where all new bills must pass at least the Senate or the House to stick around for the rest of the 2-year session. Not only did Senate Bill 518 fail to pass either chamber, it never even made it into a committee hearing for the usual initial study and recommendations. Even many other bills that often "die" at crossover are at least father along in the journey where they reached committee review.

With all the extensive community backlash thus far (I can only say just Google it - too many links to reference here!), plus the apparent lack of any significant legislative support, plus the true national divorce rate trends, many agree that this Bill or anything akin to it probably wouldn't be revisited, if at all, until at least the next legislative session in 2015 now that crossover is, well, over.

So before we would ever see such drastic new divorce laws actually get passed, or even greater attempts towards the same, we probably would in fact "have to wait two years" for the new session...if not longer...or if ever.