California Should Have Stricter Divorce Laws Essay

California Should Have Stricter Divorce Laws - Essay Example This skyrocketing number of divorces has resulted in greater numbers of children being separated from one of their parents and cast into an uncertain future. More importantly, California has made divorce such an easy process that it now suffers from a culture of divorce that is void of personal commitment, places career and finance ahead of relationships, and needs to be reformed to make divorces in California a more deliberate process. A major breakdown in marriage that is caused by easy divorce is the breakdown in the trust and commitment that a couple needs to exist as equal partners. This breakdown begins way before a problem in the marriage surfaces. The easy dissolution of a marriage dilutes the traditional marriage vows and leaves them as little more than a casual agreement. When both spouses live with the anxiety created by the knowledge that the marriage can end at any time, and for no good reason, couples are less likely to invest in their relationship. They may be more reluctant to invest in property or children. A difficult, and more thoughtful approach, to divorce could help restore the belief necessary to remove the uneasiness of living with the thought that your spouse is in no way contractually bound to the you. I think it would also be a significant sign to the children that commitment, promises, and sacred vows have a purpose. It is generally held true that children suffer the most in a divorce. Initially they are impacted by the separation from one of their parents and a confused notion that it may have been their fault. Divorced couples that I have known have greater financial problems that directly impact the children. These parents sharing custody, or with single custody, find less time to involve themselves in the child's life. The child may participate in fewer outside the home activities and have less connection with their social environment. I don't believe that remarriage and step-parenting can ever replace the bond of the biological parents in the minds of the children. These difficulties will follow the child through their life and result in alienation and very little faith in the institution of marriage. While children are taught that commitment has less value in a relationship than the convenience of easy separation, the easy divorce laws reinforce the idea in the minds of adults. Making a career choice or a wish to make a geographical move may break up a marriage. If personal fulfillment outweighs the trust that the partner has invested in the relationship, the jilted spouse will be left with the haunting fear of intimacy. They have come into the institution of marriage with uncertainty and leave it with the certainty of mistrust and betrayal. I think that these issues could be addressed by making the laws on divorce stricter in its requirements that lead into the legal finalities. I think stricter laws on divorce would help insure that the intent of marriage is not at the mercy of whimsical personal preferences. Often, these career or personal preferences are a short-term divergence outside the relationship. They may offer a future that appears to be rosier than it will eventually be. Thoughts of infidelity may wane with time, counseling, or reexamination. However, a quick and easy divorce eliminates any possibility of