The Empire Page

The issues surrounding No-Fault divorce amuse me. As a person who has been divorced three times in my 60 years, I say it is about time New York State joins the other 49 states and passes a No-Fault Divorce statute.

Once a decision is made, by either spouse, they no longer want to live together in a marital hell, they will be getting a divorce whether it is under a no-fault scenario are under the current law. Here's the problem with ending a marriage under the current law, especially when children are involved: 1) it requires one of the parents to sling mud at the other one to prove they have grounds for the divorce. This occurs whether there are grounds or not. This is detrimental to the children because they get to hear and see all the bad interactions between the parents as the marriage dissolves and the divorce takes place; and, 2) the assets of the family are seriously eroded by the fees paid to the two lawyers who are involved representing the parents, who are encouraging the couple to continue to sling as much mud as they can because this insures there will be meetings and correspondence going back and forth and all the while their odometer is running at $250 to $350 an hour. This means less money is available for the children's education and for the spouse who is deemed "at fault" to recover and to get on with their life so the children can continue to live in a lifestyle similar to the one they lived before the divorce.

In my humble opinion, I believe a No-Fault Divorce Law would even the playing field and be a very good for residents of New York State. I mean can all the other 49 states be wrong, and do some people think we are breaking down some moral fabric by providing a more reasonable way to end a marriage? Haven't they been watching just how immoral our elected officials are in New York State?

I saw a press release this morning by the National Organization of Women / New York State, and several like organizations, in which they state Organizations and individuals will send a clear message to the New York State Assembly and to the Governor, that No-Fault Divorce is not acceptable to the women and families of New York. New York must not have "divorce on demand." Hello, we basically have it now. The only difference is you need to hire a lawyer at great personal expense to make a case to prove you have established the grounds to get one.

Why don't we just stop the circus that is divorce proceedings in New York State and get on with what every other state in the union already knows. Divorce is going to happen whether someone is at fault or not.

Douglas Boettner

Doug.boettner@gmail.com