What Stricter Divorce Laws Could Do For our Families

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Fifty years ago the traditional family was defined as a father and a mother, committed in a marriage, and with this marriage there was the possibility of children. However, over the years, this definition of the “traditional family” has changed. Today, there are more households that are held together either by a single parent, stepparents, or blended families. This can be the result of many possibilities but one of the reasons as to why this change has occurred is the result of an increase in divorce in the United States. The divorce rate is on the rise and currently approximately half of all marriages are ending in divorce (Cui, Fincham, and Durtschi 411). Currently, there occurs a rate of two divorces a minute in the United States court system (Gentleman 8). Not only has the divorced rate increased in the past years, but also the divorce law has changed. In recent years, these laws have made acquiring a divorce easier and a less stringent process for those that pursue it. Not only have these lenient laws contributed to the divorce rate, but they also affect both the families involved, especially the children, and the cultural values that have been established in the United States. If the divorce laws are made stricter it will positively affect the current divorce rate, the family involved, and the culture values.
First, the current divorce rate is high, at about fifty percent, due to the change in past divorce laws. If the divorce laws are changed to being made stricter, the current divorce rate will decrease. In the past, the United States ruled divorce on a fault-based system. This fault-based system was on the terms that those could only consider divorce if they could assess blame against one of their spouses....

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...Marriage & Family 56.2 (1994): 249-63. Academic Search Premier. Web. 19 April 2014.
Gentleman, Vivian F. “The Real Scandal of Divorce.” Saturday Evening Post 235.45 (1962): 8-10. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 April 2014.
Schovanec, Barb and Cameron Lee. “Culture and Divorce: The Relationship of Values and Attitudes in a Protestant Sample.” Journal of Divorce and Remarriage 36.1 (2001): 159. Academic Search Premier. Web. 10 April 2014.
Steegh, Nancy Ver. “Family Court Reform and ADR: Shifting Values and Expectations Transform the Divorce Process.” Family Law Quarterly 42.3 (2008): 659-71. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 April 2014.
Vousoura, Eleni, et al. “Parental Divorce, Familial Risk for Depression, and Psychopathology in Offspring: A Three-Generation Study.” Journal of Child & Family Studies 21.5 (2012): 718-25. Academic Search Premier. Web. 05 April 2014.

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