HB 587 will ban the use of “irreconcilable differences” in divorce if there are minor children involved.

HB 587 will ban the use of “irreconcilable differences” in divorce if there are minor children involved. 

 

For more than 40 years, the use of irreconcilable differences has allowed individuals to avoid costly, public airings of the reasons for the dissolution of their marriage.  This legislation will force parents to prove that one has, for example, committed adultery, been extremely cruel, become impotent or been a drunkard or abandoned the family for at least two years.  

 

(See RSA 458:7 for a comprehensive list of grounds that may be used to show cause as to why a court may grant a divorce.)   

 

HB 587 will be heard before the House Children and Family Law Committee on in Rm. 206, LOB, on Thursday, March 3 at 9:30 a.m..   

 

You can want to contact the Committee members at http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/house/committees/committeedetails.aspx?code=H37 and tell them what you think of the legislation.  

 

 

HB 587 – AS INTRODUCED

2011 SESSION

11-0580
05/09
HOUSE BILL 587
AN ACT relative to grounds for divorce for persons with minor children.
SPONSORS: Rep. G. Hopper, Hills 7; Rep. Groen, Straf 1; Rep. Comerford, Rock 9; Rep. Ingbretson, Graf 5
COMMITTEE: Children and Family Law

ANALYSIS

This bill permits no fault divorce based on irreconcilable differences only if the parties do not have minor children.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
11-0580
05/09

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Eleven

AN ACT relative to grounds for divorce for persons with minor children.

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

1 Causes for Divorce; Irreconcilable Differences; Limited to Cases Without Minor Children. Amend RSA 458:7-a to read as follows:
458:7-a Absolute Divorce, Irreconcilable Differences. A divorce from the bonds of matrimony shall be decreed, irrespective of the fault of either party, on the ground of irreconcilable differences which have caused the irremediable breakdown of the marriage only if there are no minor children of the parties. In any pleading or hearing of a petition for divorce under this section, allegations or evidence of specific acts of misconduct shall be improper and inadmissible, except [where parental rights and responsibilities are an issue and such evidence is relevant to establish that a particular allocation of parental rights and responsibilities would be detrimental to the child or] at a hearing where it is determined by the court to be necessary to establish the existence of irreconcilable differences. If, upon hearing of an action for divorce under this section, both parties are found to have committed an act or acts which justify a finding of irreconcilable differences, a divorce shall be decreed and the acts of one party shall not negate the acts of the other nor bar the divorce decree. The court’s findings and decree may be based on oral testimony or written stipulations of the parties.
2 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2012.