Proposed bill could require a two-year wait for divorce

Divorce bill

GREENSBORO — North Carolinians tie the knot every day, but one state senator wants to make it a bit harder to untie it.

Sen Austin Allran, R-Catawba, filed the Healthy Marriage Act, which would change the divorce process.

If passed into law, couples could be required to undergo mandatory counseling for two years before their split is official. While the idea is to strengthen the bond of marriage and view divorce as a last resort, some North Carolinians said it’s just too intrusive.

“I don’t think it’s any of their business,” Susan Riley said.

“It’s an invasion of privacy,” Suzanne Smith said. “If people want to get counseling, I think they should do that, but for a law to tell people that they have to wait two years to get a divorce is absolutely insane.”

“It can be good in a way,” Mark Mozzoni said. “But also at the same time, if a couple don’t get along at all and they tried everything else, it’s better off just separating and part ways.”

And if children are in the mix, the bill would require additional counseling for the parents so that they can understand the impact a divorce has on children.

“That can help a little bit, but at the same time, it’s up to the parents how they act,” Mozzoni said.

“Most people that I know that have been through divorce have a pretty good understanding of what it’s doing to their children and do their best not to let it impact them,” Riley said.

The current requirement for divorce states that couples live apart for one year. But this legislation would make the living situation optional for the two-year waiting period while they complete courses on improving communication and conflict resolutions.

“Maybe people do things too quickly these days,” June Bergstein said. “The government can’t be planning your life for you.”

And for now the debate will continue.

The Healthy Marriage Act was just filed on Thursday and at this point it is unclear how much support it has.

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