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By Suzanne McBride Indianapolis Star/News
INDIANAPOLIS (Sept. 9, 1998) -- State lawmakers worried about skyrocketing
divorce rates and the breakdown of the family are
considering two proposals that could affect Hoosiers who already are married
or are wanting to tie the knot.
The first proposal would encourage or possibly require engaged couples to
undergo premarital counseling before they can get a marriage
license.
Couples who complete a special course could pay a reduced marriage license
fee. Or if the legislature imposes a waiting period on all
marriage licenses, couples who complete the class or undergo counseling
could get their licenses more quickly.
The second would allow engaged and already wed couples to get a covenant
marriage license, which would make it more difficult to get
divorced.
The Interim Study Committee on Family Law Issues, which heard testimony
Wednesday, will vote next month on the proposals, which
must pass several hurdles before becoming law.
Lawmakers heard from supporters of the premarital counseling proposal who
said such a law would ensure that more couples are better
prepared for marriage.
"We are at a crisis or near-crisis level with divorce. We've got to
get this under control," said Greenwood lawyer Linda Meier.
Meier heads the Indiana State Bar Association's family law division, which
first suggested the proposal last month. Talking to so many
unhappy couples convinced Meier and other family law attorneys that people
need to be better equipped for marriage if they want to stay
out of divorce court.
It's important for engaged couples to be educated about how to communicate
with each other and how to resolve conflicts, said Des Ryan,
executive director of the Indiana Catholic Conference.
For years, the Catholic Church has required all couples to receive premarital
counseling before they can be married by a priest.
Getting couples to talk about issues such as child-rearing and commitment
would help all couples, not just those getting married in the
Catholic Church, Ryan said.
But he noted that a premarital class is no guarantee that couples stay together.
Ryan said the divorce rate among Catholics is about the same
as that of non-Catholics.
Not everyone was convinced that the proposal made sense.
"Counseling is wonderful if both people are willing to do it. Government
is interfering in our lives too much," said Mark Cenova, a
G.E.D. teacher at the Independence Career Development Center in Indianapolis.
Pointing to his wedding ring, Cenova said that if he were still single,
he wouldn't get married if he had to get premarital counseling.
No one spoke against the covenant proposal, which has been introduced the
past three years by Rep. Dennis Kruse, R-Auburn.
Several recently divorced Hoosiers told lawmakers how easy it was for their
spouses to walk away from their marriage and urged
legislators to back the covenant proposal.
A Louisiana legislator also encouraged Indiana lawmakers to consider the
idea, which was adopted in that state two years ago.
The Louisiana law allows couples to get a covenant marriage if they receive
premarital counseling, agree to seek counseling if their
marriage becomes troubled, and understand that they can divorce only if
certain problems such as abuse or a criminal conviction arise.
Couples also can divorce if they live apart for two years.
The Louisiana law allows already married couples to opt into this type of
marriage, an idea Kruse said he plans to include in the bill he'll
sponsor next year.
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