FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (NewsNation) — In some U.S. states, married couples are required to wait up to a year before having the opportunity to file for divorce. But some experts argue these rules are keeping vulnerable people in bad situations for too long.
According to the CDC, there were nearly 700,000 divorces in 2021.
But getting divorced is not that easy, especially when couples live in one of 35 states that require a “cooling off” period where couples have a minimum wait time before they can even file for divorce.
In states like Florida, West Virginia and Wyoming, that wait time can be as little as 20 days.
In places like Delaware, Louisiana, Montana, Vermont and Virginia, couples have to wait at least six months before applying for a divorce.
But on the more extreme side, some states require couples to live in separate households for an entire year before a spouse can file for divorce.
“I think it would be really healthy if couples thought of it as this practice period instead of a waiting period,” psychologist Elizabeth Cohen, Ph.D. said. “So let’s try out some ways of being separated. Not in the sense of we might get back together but how we are going to separate that will be successful for each of us, which is very important, not just one person, and anyone else involved.”
But some psychologists said a separation, or “cooling-off” period might be dangerous, especially for vulnerable individuals.
Studies show women make up about 85% of domestic violence victims, and face the highest risk of serious injury or death when they try to leave their abusers, Time reported.
In some states, victims of domestic violence still have to complete mandatory waiting periods without exception prior to filing for divorce. And according to a study by the American Sociological Association, about 70% of divorces filed in America are by women.
“You can’t move on to a new relationship, you can’t get the wheel done like you want it to get done. It really holds up your life changing. Your legal status is very important. So there’s somebody’s life on the other end of that file. So we have to make sure that we take care of getting that hearing done,” Amy Cox, Spartanburg County clerk of court, said.
While dozens of states have these divorce requirements, only 18 states require any wait to get married — the longest of which is five days.
May Mailman, a senior legal fellow at Independent Women’s Forum, said it’s important for the state to step in and regulate morals. And while she believes in having a safe space for women, she said it’s hard to understate how harmful divorce is for society and for women.
Mailman explained that these laws say that couples need to seriously consider divorce before acting on it.
“Time can help make that decision, a considered one,” she said.
However, NewsNation political analyst Chris Hahn disagreed with Mailman completely, claiming divorce is not a decision between a man, a woman and the state but a personal decision between the married couple.
“In America, this is not something that the state should be involved with. This is personal freedom,” Hahn said. “And quite frankly, the longer you leave somebody in a bad situation, the more likely it is that those people are going to be violent.”
Hahn agreed that divorce has a horrible economic impact on a lot of families, but he shared his own personal experience, saying he grew up in a broken home. He claimed that while his family did experience those economic hardships, he said his family and parents were much better off separated than if they would have stayed together.
“I think the state has no role here,” he said. “The state needs to get out of the way of marriage. It is not going to hurt anyone else other than the two parties involved. It is not something the state should have any role in.”
