A Proposal to Reduce Unnecessary Divorce - Razorplanet

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5. States and nations with waiting periods to finalize divorce do address the
pragmatic concerns couples have during that time.
Some critics are concerned that waiting periods leave divorcing couples in
limbo, unable to make necessary decisions or move on with their lives. In
practice, in jurisdictions in the U.S. and abroad that currently have waiting
periods, the courts or the couples themselves decide on custody, financial arrangements,
and other aspects of the family situation on a temporary basis as
needed during the waiting period.
6. Sadly, victims of domestic violence are at risk no matter the current legal
status of their marriage or divorce, but waiting periods can be waived in
the case of domestic violence.
Domestic violence situations present a special concern that can be handled
with a waiver of the divorce finalization waiting period in those cases in which
there is a threat to a spouse or the children. Unfortunately, however, the threat
of serious domestic violence appears to have little to do with the legal situation
of couples. Women can be at risk before or after a legal divorce, irrespective of
how long the process takes, and no serious argument has been made that waiting
periods put women at any more risk than the absence of waiting periods.
Further, children on average are at greater risk of suffering physical or sexual
abuse in post-divorce families when cohabiting boyfriends and stepfathers enter
their lives. 31 Overall, children on average have more to gain than to lose from a
divorce finalization waiting period when it might reduce the risk of experiencing
multiple family transitions and adults coming in and out of their lives that
too often follow in the wake of divorce.
7. The public generally supports making divorces involving children somewhat
harder to get.
Polling consistently shows that most Americans favor more speed bumps on
the road to divorce for couples with children. 32 We can look to New York as
one recent example, where the six-month waiting period instituted as part of a
revamped divorce statute produced no apparent controversy.
In recent years, both liberals and conservatives have expressed support for
a waiting period combined with other ways to help couples contemplating
divorce. For example, former U.S. senator and now Secretary of State Hillary