Nebraska May Unconstitutionally Mandate Couples to Receive Counseling Prior to Granting a Divorce

The decision has been made. You and your spouse want out of the marriage, right? What if you were forced to receive counseling before you could make the process final? Not only that, but you also had to pay for the counseling out of your own pocket? No handouts available. If you refuse to attend these counseling sessions, you will have to wait an entire year before filing for divorce. This could be a true nightmare for residents of Nebraska.

The Huffington Post covered this new bill in detail. ” Nebraska State Senator Tony Fulton (R) introduced a bill that would give judges the option to send married couples with minor children to marriage counseling before granting a divorce and require marriage counseling in divorce actions where no minor children are involved and where one spouse believes the marriage should be saved.”

The Senator thinks passing this bill will help to lower the divorce rate. Will being forced to spend three hours in counseling really lower the rate of divorce? More importantly, is the state’s interference in this realm going one step too far?  Is it constitutional?  I don’t think so.  It’s an unconstitutional infringement upon the rights of Nebraska citizens and should not be passed.

Other states such as Texas and Oklahoma have rejected such a bill.

The entire article can be read here