Oklahoma to require divorce school for couples with children

[unhappycamper]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/06/05/oklahoma-to-require-divorce-school-for-couples-with-children/



Oklahoma to require divorce school for couples with children
By Reuters
Thursday, June 5, 2014 17:57 EDT

OKLAHOMA CITY (Reuters) – Starting in November, Oklahoma couples with children will have to go through an education program before being allowed to divorce in the state under a new bill signed into law this week.

The bill for couples seeking divorce due to incompatibility and with children under 18 is aimed at educating parents about the effects of divorce on children and advising them about reconciliation, said its sponsors, state Representative Jason Nelson and Senator Rob Standridge, both Republicans.

“If you are going through the whole divorce process and have kids, if we can do anything to keep people together, we should. Marriage is a lifelong contract with the state and with your children,” Standridge said.

The education program, which costs between $15 to $60, must be completed within 45 days of a receiving a temporary order from the court.

[yeoman6987]

1. Parents are not being allowed to make choices

First they took smoking out of the car with children and now parents have to go to school if they want to split up. So much for freedom....isn't that what the conservatives always yell about?

[Gothmog]

2. Why does Texas not slide into Gulf of Mexico?

Because Oklahoma sucks

[Laelth]

3. Some circuit courts in Georgia already require this.

The one in which I mostly practice does, and I think it's a good idea.

Divorcing parents with minor children need to hear the following:

1) Children know they are 1/2 you and 1/2 your spouse, so don't bad-mouth the spouse in front of the children, because when you're bad-mouthing the spouse, you're bad-mouthing your children too ... and they know it. It hurts.

2) You and your spouse may not get along, but the kids are innocent here. Don't make them the victims of your dispute. Certainly don't use them as weapons against your spouse. To do so is horribly unjust and very cruel.

3) The kids get the family's primary residence. It's not you or your spouse who gets the house; it's the kids. The idea is to minimize the disruption of the children's lives, and they (plus whomever is the primary physical custodian of the children) should get the house ... because that's the right thing to do for the children.

4) You and your spouse must be able to communicate in a civil manner because you will be discussing your joint children (ideally) for the rest of your lives. You might as well start learning how to be civil to one another now.

And that's just off the top of my head, but these are things that divorcing parents with children need to hear, and, because the state is inherently invested in the institution of marriage, I see no problem mandating these kinds of courses.

-Laelth

[TexasProgresive]

4. This might not be a bad idea.

Children often suffer needlessly when their parents divorce. It will always be difficult but when the parents beat each other over the head with their children it is horrible. Personally I think that this kind of child abuse should be criminal but maybe with pre-divorce counseling and education it will minimize the damage.

I would add that if post-divorce there is evidence of the children being overly distressed by their divorced parents that there be follow up.

[OKNancy]

5. It's been really, really easy to get a divorce in Oklahoma

so I don't know if this is actually that bad an idea.