Married couples with kids would have to wait up to a full year for a divorce to become final under a new bill in the Tennessee state legislature, according to a story in The Tennessean. Senator Paul Stanley’s divorce bill would make couples with children younger than 15 have to wait a year before a divorce on grounds of irreconcilable differences would take effect. That time period would be reduced to six months for couples with children between the ages of 15 and 18. Stanley said in the story that he thinks divorce is “too convenient” in the state.

Since Tennessee does not have no-fault divorces, filing on grounds of irreconcilable differences is usually the quickest means for divorce in the state. The story says that a Tennessee divorce could become final in as little as 90 days when both parties agree to the terms of the divorce and other factors, including child custody and property division. Couples without children can get divorced in as little as 60 days under current Tennessee divorce law.

Opponents to this divorce legislation say that it is not wise to drag out the divorce process. Nashville divorce lawyer Ray Akers said in the story that very few people reconcile during a pending divorce, and that such longer periods lead to only more bitterness and expenses.

Tennessee divorce rates have been on the decline in recent years, according to the story. The Volunteer State had the third-highest per capita divorce rate in the nation in 1999. By 2004, Tennessee recorded 4.9 divorces per 1,000 residents. Those numbers were down from 6.5 divorces for every 1,000 residents in 1990. Contributing factors to the decline in Tennessee divorces include legislation strengthening marriages and a decline in the number of marriages statewide and nationwide.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 12th, 2007 at 5:45 am and is filed under Divorce Law. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.