Backwards system leads to hasty weddings, draws out failed relationships
A 2010 study shows that divorce rate is up, and roughly 50 percent of all first marriages collapse. This indicates that either marriage as an institution isn’t doable or that people are marrying before they really know what they want.
To prevent a rapid divorce rate, most states require a separation period before a divorce can be made final. Many people argue that marriage is worth fighting for, and that the wait time is a good time to make sure divorce is really what is best. But if people are intent on cutting back on divorces, then why can a marriage license be obtained in a day or two on a whim while ending a marriage in South Carolina takes well over a year? Marriage should be taken more seriously before its entered into, but the divorce process shouldn’t be so hard.
If marriage had a similar process that a divorce does, people would pause to think about it a little more than most couples do. While there still will be those people who get married without a thought of real commitment, a harder-to-obtain marriage license would either create marriages that are legitimately committed, or people would stay unmarried altogether. Common law allows benefits for those together without marriage, and those who wish to continue with marriage would have the confidence that they had stayed committed through the process.
A quicker divorce system would also be cheaper. Those who go through a divorce have a high risk of suffering credit scores, expensive legal fees and emotional stress that a yearlong, drawn-out battle brings on a person.
If people can quickly get married, then the divorce process should be shortened. If keeping the sanctity of marriage intact is the final goal, then make marriage more serious rather than draw out a failed one.