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November 09, 2004
How Married Are You?
Our Reverend Gov. is in the national news again.
Gov. Mike Huckabee and his wife plan to convert their nuptial vows into a covenant marriage during a mass ceremony on Valentine's Day, giving a public push to the movement that seeks to strengthen marital ties and make it harder to get divorced.
Thanks, Gov! I tell you, we can't get too much publicity like this, can we?
In case you've never heard of it (and there's no reason why you should've), covenant marriage was created by our Legislature in 2001. (See A.C.A. 9-11-801 et seq) It's mostly designed to make it extremely difficult to get divorced, no matter what the circumstances are. It was enacted because we have a fairly high divorce rate.
Arkansas' marriage rate is nearly double the national average - 15.1 per 1,000 population compared to the national rate of 8.3, but the state's divorce rate is among the highest in the nation at 6.5 per 1,000 population, according to the governor's office. The national average is 4.2.
Here's how it works.
Basically, you can only get a divorce based on proof of the following:
(1) The other spouse has committed adultery;
(2) The other spouse has committed a felony or other infamous crime;
(3) The other spouse has physically or sexually abused the spouse seeking the divorce or a child of one (1) of the spouses;
(4) The spouses have been living separate and apart continuously without reconciliation for a period of two (2) years; or
(5)(A) The spouses have been living separate and apart continuously without reconciliation for a period of two (2) years from the date the judgment of judicial separation was signed; or
(B)(i) If there is a minor child or children of the marriage, the spouses have been living separate and apart continuously without reconciliation for a period of two (2) years and six (6) months from the date the judgment of judicial separation was signed.
(ii) However, if abuse of a child of the marriage or a child of one (1) of the spouses is the basis for which the judgment of judicial separation was obtained, then a judgment of divorce may be obtained if the spouses have been living separate and apart continuously without reconciliation for a period of one (1) year from the date the judgment of judicial separation was signed. (A.C.A. 9-11-808)
And to get a judicial separation, you must unsuccessfully participate in marital counseling AND prove one of the following:
(1) The other spouse has committed adultery;
(2) The other spouse has committed a felony and has been sentenced to death or imprisonment;
(3) The other spouse has physically or sexually abused the spouse seeking the legal separation or divorce or a child of one (1) of the spouses;
(4) The spouses have been living separate and apart continuously without reconciliation for a period of two (2) years; or
(5) The other spouse shall:
(A) Be addicted to habitual drunkenness for one (1) year;
(B) Be guilty of such cruel and barbarous treatment as to endanger the life of the other; or
(C) Offer such indignities to the person of the other as shall render his or her condition intolerable. (A.C.A. 9-11-808)
Side note, the last one there is know in the biz as 'general indignities', and is the grounds for most regular divorces here because you don't have to have corroborating evidence if the divorce is uncontested....just one party's testimony. Basically, they have to testify that they are purer than the driven snow, and the other party's a big jerk that they just can't live with anymore. The testimony can sometimes be......interesting, as you can imagine.
Now to get a covenant marriage, you must participate in pre-marital counseling (which is not a bad thing), and sign a affidavit that says you agree to try to stay married. It hasn't been very popular, there's been about 600 or so since the legislation was enacted in 2001. Apparently people are a little gunshy about being super-duper-ultra-married.
Imagine that.
Posted by Rita at November 9, 2004 06:21 AM