Identify Areas for Sytematic Change

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Laws, regulations, and procedures in government are all things within the power and jurisdiction of policymakers to create, change, or revoke. Whether through the formal passage of legislation or through less visible administrative regulations, these actions create ways by which government executes, interprets and enforces policy.

Government regulates marriage and divorce by creating the requirements for granting a marriage license and petitions for divorce. There are many places to make systemic changes. You may consider revisiting the provisions within those requirements to, at the very least, be sure you are not discouraging marriage, and at most, creating an atmosphere that supports and nurtures healthy marriage.

Some possibilities to consider include:

  • Reduce or eliminate the marriage license fees for couples that complete approved pre-marital education or counseling for a required number of hours. Research indicates a lower incidence of divorce for those who participate in pre-marital preparation and learn the skills for creating a healthy marriage. Supporters believe this serves as an incentive to obtain pre-marital marriage/relationship education as a tool to help reduce divorce, or prevent unhealthy marriages.
  • Create a Covenant Marriage law that offers couples the option to choose a covenant marriage over a traditional marriage license. Covenant marriage requires pre-marital counseling or education and limits the grounds for dissolution except for extreme circumstances such as infidelity or domestic violence.

    By making divorce harder to obtain, proponents of covenant marriage believe it encourages couples to try harder to make their marriage work. On the front end, it can help ensure that couples are committed to the marriage from the beginning.
  • Require distribution of marriage skills handbooks as part of the marriage license application process. Such handbooks offer practical information about the benefits and challenges of marriage while providing tips and referral information for couples. For states/communities with free or low-cost marriage education services it can be a good recruitment tool, increasing awareness of marriage-related services.

    While not as intensive as marriage education, a handbook can teach needed skills to maintain a healthy marriage, potentially decreasing the risk of divorce. See related sample legislation.
  • Include relationship skills in the life skills curriculum for secondary school students, or programming aimed at youth. Relationship skills can be taught and are typically learned during youth through relationships with friends, teachers, family, and early romantic relationships. Proponents believe that teaching teens and young adults the skills for healthy relationships and talking with them about marriage may make young adults more likely to consider marriage as a goal, potentially decreasing cohabitation and out-of-wedlock child-bearing. In addition, they may be better equipped to form and sustain healthy marriages in the future. See related sample legislation.
  • Allow court-ordered participation in a relationship skills program as a preemptive option prior to granting a divorce. Some states require classes on the effects of divorce if children are present. Even though the couple has decided the marriage is ending, co-parents need to communicate and problem solve together.

    Supporters believe this tactic may prevent "salvageable" marriages from dissolving. Some marriage experts contend that couples often seek divorce not because they want to end the marriage, but because they are unsure how to fix the marriage. See related sample legislation.
  • Extend the time period that couples seeking a divorce must live apart prior to the granting of a no-fault divorce petition, with some exceptions. Current requirements in states range from a few months to over a year for couples to live apart prior to granting a divorce.

    Some marriage advocates assert that an extended "cooling-off" period of separation allows couples to re-examine whether or not divorce is in their best interest, particularly if children are involved. Proponents believe that shorter timeframes of separation prior to a divorce preemptively end marriages that are salvageable, while longer terms of separation give couples time to reflect and evaluate their situation. See related sample legislation.
  • Revise the data collection requirements for vital statistics and the procedures for agencies responsible for collecting public data on marriage and divorce. Because collecting and reporting these data are no longer Federally mandated, some data collection methods are not uniform across counties [the place where permission to marriage or divorce is granted], which makes obtaining consistent and accurate State-wide data difficult and sometimes unreliable. A lack of consistent collection and reliable data limits the ability of policymakers to obtain accurate information regarding marriage and divorce trends.

    In some states, information on marriage and divorce is not collected, which limits the ability of decision-makers to understand public trends in rising or falling marriage and divorce rates.
  • Review existing laws and regulations to identify places that may discourage marriage. Unfortunately, unintended consequences occur in public policy. Policies designed to support single-parent families may inadvertently create a disincentive to marriage. See how this may be in effect in your state.

    Some state and local policies create cliff effects when one or two individuals currently accessing government-supported programs consider marriage. For example, an earned income tax credit may be very helpful for an unwed parent. It may also reward a married couple in which only one spouse works. However, it can create a financial disincentive for a cohabiting couple (with two employed adults), thereby discouraging marriage.