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The New Jersey State Assembly has passed a bill making it easier to divorce, which puts it one step away from becoming a law.
If passed into law, the bill will allow couples to file for a no-fault divorce on the grounds of “irreconcilable differences,” with a waiting time of only six months.
The bill is now awaiting final approval from Gov. Jon S. Corzine.
As it stands now, a couple can only divorce after being separate for 18 months. To be granted a divorce more quickly than that, a couple would have to claim physical or emotional cruelty.
Assemblyman Christopher Bateman, one of the bill’s sponsors, said the bill, if passed would allow the couples to get the divorce they want without having to drag it out for 18 months, and without having to make damaging claims.
“The way the law is set up now, unless you want to air your dirty laundry, you have to wait the 18 months,” said Bateman. “That’s not good for the kids, it’s not good for them financially, and what happens is once you start putting your dirty laundry in the proceedings, it makes it a lot more difficult.”
The Bill’s Opponents
Family and religious groups continue to resist the bill, claiming that it endangers marriage.
The executive director of the New Jersey Catholic Conference, Patrick Brannigan, said that the Legislature should be supporting marriage, not facilitating divorce in a time of increased divorce acceptance.
“Six months is an insufficient period of time to conclude that a marriage should be dissolved. The conference rejects the proposition that divorce is inevitable,” Brannigan said.
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