Mutual Consent
Excerpts from Page 37 of “How to Cut America’s Divorce Rate in Half” by Mike McManus:
“The current law, called No Fault Divorce, or divorce on grounds of “irreconcilable differences,” in reality is Unilateral Divorce in which one spouse can force divorce on an unwilling partner. That is what happens in 80 percent of cases, according to Frank Furstenberg and Andrew Cherlin, authors of Divided Families. They argue that it is unfair to the spouse who does not want the divorce, who believes that the marriage is reconcilable. Although No Fault is less harmful to couples without children, 70% of divorces do involve a child.”
“If a couple has children, their obligation to them should take precedence over a personal desire by one parent to abandon the marriage. Therefore, only if both parents agree to divorce, should a marriage be terminated.”
Additional Resources:
A Description of Mutual Consent
An 8-page article by Mike McManus about why No-Fault divorce should be replaced with Mutual Consent.
by Mike McManus
Divorce reform bills to require mutual consent
A list of Divorce Reform bills proposed in various states in favor of mutual consent for no-fault divorce, and/or restrict divorce when there are children.
2005 Utah Mutual Consent/Minor Children Bill
The full text of Utah’s bill to limit irreconcilable differences as a legitimate claim for divorce.
2003 New Mexico Mutual Consent/Counseling Divorce Bill
The full text of New Mexico’s bill in favor of mutual consent and marriage counseling.
2008 Michigan Mutual Consent Bill
The full text of Michigan’s house bill #5761 defining the proposed legality of divorce.