New York, New York, a Helluva Town
- Except for that whole "no-fault" divorce thing.
As someone who often feels suffocated for no reason (I'm weird) I want to feel that, if I were married, I could, at ANY given moment, get a divorce for NO reason whatsoever, just because I felt like it, at the drop of a hat. Unfortunately, I live in NY and they want what in legal terms is known as a "reason."
Denying no-fault divorce is ridiculous, in my humble opinion. Marriages can span fifty years, longer. As human beings are living longer, so are they staying married longer, and who's to say that over time feelings just won't fade? And isn't it kind of lofty to assume that how you feel at twenty-two is how you'll feel at thirty-two, let alone seventy-two?
But no. NY says that if you want to separate from your (in)significant other, you need a reason. So I wanted to know: what qualifies as a good reason?
According to the law experts on A&E's American Justice, reasons can be anything, as long as they are UNCONTESTED. Which basically means that you can site anything: infidelity, verbal or physical abuse, alienation of affection, etc. but the other party has to say that it's true. Which is ridiculous, because what about those crazy husbands (or wives) who for whatever reason refuse a divorce as a way of keeping the marriage alive? I'm not talking about the consoling spouse who says "Please reconsider; let's work it out," but rather the spouse who uses the law as a way to keep the other person legally bound.
True, divorce is something that, when it happens, isn't always wanted by both parties. But who would want to be with someone who didn't want to be with them? Maybe you think that if they are just forced to stay for a few more months, they'll change their mind. But if they have to be forced into staying in the first place, there's a problem. The whole thing makes me feel trapped, and I'm not even married!
In its defense, the law (not allowing no-fault divorce) is supposed to (they claim) dissuade couples from rushing into a divorce in the heat of some temporary argument. Which, I suppose, is nice, but I still feel like it takes away from my own personal freedom to legally separate from whomever I please. Am I alone in this?