Divorce cooling off period proposed

12/30/2011

A Colorado lawmaker has proposed a ‘cooling off period’ for divorcing couples.

Sen. Kevin Lunberg said it had been made “too easy” to get divorced. He said, “We've made it too easy to bail out of marriage. It can happen in as quickly as 90 days. That's a pretty short period of time."

He is now proposing the Parental Divorce Reduction Act, with the aim of slowing down parents who wish to divorce. He said that children should be seen as “major players” in divorce considerations.

If the Bill were to go through it would require parents wishing to divorce to undertake significantly more educational instruction. Currently they are only required to take a half-day class on parenting as a divorcee.

The Bill would also require a cooling off period of up to six months, although it does including some exceptions and exclusions.

9news.com reports that Dr Larry Curry, a marriage counselor, is backing the Bill, arguing that as things stand it’s in some ways easier to get a divorce than it is to get married. He is quoted as saying, “As adults, we try to say they will get over it, they're young. But the bottom line is that it's a traumatic experience for a child.”