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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | April 11, 2024 12:55 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Kristine C. Howard |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | Modernizing Divorce |
| Pennsylvania’s current divorce law is a disgrace. Couples wishing to divorce must navigate a legal code established for the express purpose of preventing divorce. Endless barriers, ranging from forcible counseling to excessive fees, and, of course, the need to present the case to our very overworked Court of Common Pleas, result in unconscionable delays, with the quickest divorces in Pennsylvania often taking two or three years. All of this despite the fact that marriage is a contract entered into freely and, in Pennsylvania, more easily than almost any state. Current law makes it substantially harder to end a marriage than any other contract, and exponentially more difficult than creating the contract in the first place. This is a legal absurdity, one that keeps people in bad marriages and prevents them from remarrying as their prior relationships remain in legal limbo. Earlier this session, I introduced HB1120, a bill intended to dramatically streamline the divorce process. After receiving substantial stakeholder feedback, and working closely with experts on the issue, I have rewritten the bill, and will soon introduce the new, more perfect, version. This new version further streamlines the process, and will also allow the minor courts to grant uncontested and simple divorces, thereby relieving the Court of Common Pleas of a substantial burden. Nobody should be forced by the state to remain in a failed or abusive marriage. Please join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation. |
Introduced as HB2303