'No fault' divorce

[dazzleman]

I think no fault divorce has been a disaster for children.  It has been one of those factors that has forced both parents into the workforce, because they lose the security that marriage used to bring.

Marriage is supposed to be a contract, albeit a loose one, but still a contract.  What good is a contract if it can be violated at will for any reason, without the consent of the other party.  No-fault divorce cheapens marriage, and has contributed to the breakdown in our family structure, with all the negative effects that has.

I don't believe that anybody should be forced to remain in an abusive marriage.  I also think that divorce should be allowed if both parties agree they want it.  But I think it's wrong to force divorce on a person who does not want it if there are not valid grounds.

Many divorces could be avoided in my opinion if people were more committed to preserving their marriages.  This would be much better for society.  But no-fault divorce makes it too easy to quit a marriage rather than work out the problems.  It's easier to move on to greener pastures, which often are not so green after all, considering that the divorce rate in second marriages is higher than in first marriages.

Divorce is extremely damaging when children are involved, and in many cases it would be better to work out marital problems rather than divorce.

[dazzleman]

Pre-nups at this point are a necessary evil, to a large extent because of no-fault divorce.

If two parties come to a marriage with largely unequal assets (which is more common today than in the past because people are often older when they get married, and one party may have accumulated significant assets prior to marriage), and marriage laws themselves provide little protection against the unilateral breaking of that contract, it is only prudent that the person with greater assets take extra measures to compensate for the deficiencies in the laws.

I don't like pre-nups, but I do so why some people would want them in the current social and legal environment in which we exist.

[dazzleman]

If two people find they can no longer get along together they should divorce. Why stay married and be miserable together?

Yes, its easier to just quit when things get tough. We should definately be teaching our children that lesson.

I agree with StatesRights.  If you need a divorce, you shouldn't have married.

You signed a contract.  You can't just annul a contract through a decision.  The contract is a life-long contract.

It is a mutually agreed upon contract. If both parties want to dissolve it why should government interfere? Especially when children are not involved.

I agree that the marriage contract should be dissolvable with mutual agreement, especially if there are no children involved.  If there are children involved, some type of counseling should be mandated, in my opinion, prior to the granting of a divorce to try to ensure the best outcome for the children.  It shocks me today how little people take their childrens' well-being into consideration in matters of marriage and divorce.  This is definitely a negative consequence of this "no-fault, no responsibility" society that we have unfortunately created.

Another messy facet is the financial arrangements in a divorce, and this is the cause of a lot of problems.  It is not so easy to pull apart lives that have been merged.