NC Senators Propose 2-Year Cooling Off Period before Divorce

If you call the Tar Heel State home sweet home and are thinking of divorcing, North Carolina Senators Austin Allran (Rep) and Warren Daniel (Rep) have two words for you: cool off.

That’s the idea behind Allran and Daniel’s new bill, the Healthy Marriage Act, which was tabled in the state’s legislator late last week. If passed, the bill would require spouses to file an “intent to divorce,” and then wait two years for their divorce to become official. Currently, North Carolinans are required to live apart for one year before getting divorced.

While the bill wouldn’t require spouses to live together during the two years, they’d have to attend classes on improving communication skills and conflict resolution. Parents would also have to attend a 4-hour course on how divorce impacts kids.

The bill echoes the Parental Divorce Reduction Act tabled earlier this year by Colorado Senator Kevin Lunberg (Rep), which if passed would require parents to attend an in-depth, multi-day workshop before they filed for divorce, and undergo a cooling off period before officially deciding to untie the knot.   

Source: http://www.news-record.com/home/977972-63/bill-would-extend-waiting-period