 Their marriage struck down, their children illegitimate |
A 49-year-old New York man says he is hopeful his marital dispute with his first wife will help reform the state’s current divorce laws.
The New York Post said Sunday Matthew Gerber and his second wife, Mari, are hopeful Gerber’s ongoing legal dispute with his first wife, Ingrid, will shed light on possible problems in New York’s divorce laws.
Gerber’s divorce from his first wife was overturned after Ingrid, 54, won a successful appeal of the divorce and effectively made the former couple legally married once again. The appeal also voided Gerber’s second marriage.
New York is currently the only U.S. state without a so-called no-fault law, meaning an individual can only be granted a divorce if they prove their spouse either had an affair, been cruel to them or withheld sex for a year.
Retired judge Sondra Miller told the Post cases like Gerber’s indicate New York needs to implement a no-fault law, which allows divorces to take place without proof of wrongdoing from either side.
No Fault divorce exists throughout the country. I hadn’t realized they still live in the 1950’s world of Father Knows Best – in New York – but, obviously they do.
#31 – Alfred1,
Like throwing meat into a tank of piranha…he blogs a slander against religion…to be amused by the reaction…by the mindless barking of moonbats…and the foaming at the mouth of wingnuts…
And yet, you as head moonbat and wingnut continue to bark and foam at the mouth. If it disturbs you so, you are welcome to leave. I doubt you’ll be missed.
#38
> Your rights depend upon
> the set meaning of words.
Your rights depend on the enforcement of law and its interpretation of words as deemed by the courts for which the meaning of the words as they were originally written is a critical factor.
> The Supreme Court
> was founded to establish
> the legal meaning of words.
I was under the impression that the SC was created to settle disputes among the States and later to morphed into determining the Constitutionality of law.
All courts take the law and the meaning at the time it was written into account in every case. No one disputes that as it is obvious. However, the interpretation as it applies to modern circumstance obviously must change because the people doing the interpretation change.
Since you have been owned in every post you have made and especially by me and think that the events in the Bible accurately reflect the events described, I’d suggest you reserve your claims of ignorance.
> Only a fool lets
> the meaning of words
> be decided by the whims
> of the public…or their ruler
That is a strawman. No one ever suggested such a thing.
In the case of the word “marriage” we have a word that encompasses more than two people loving each other or a binding contract. If you are so hung up on the word as are your fanatical brethren, then the obvious solution is to abandon the use of the word for the purposes of law. Have the only legally accepted concept be a “civil union” and let people call that union whatever they want.
#34 – nunyac,
It seems to me that the divorce rate has increased with the adoption of no fault divorce laws. Not a good thing for our society.
Society would be so much better off with a whole bunch of miserable people stuck in miserable relationships hating each other ’til death do us part. Let death come quickly when the parties are unhappy. Wait!! There’s the way out …
This can’t end well. Marriage must be voluntary. When either or both parties want out, we must let them out.
The alternative is known as wrongful imprisonment.
Actually, the information in the article is misleading. You can also get a divorce in New York one year after signing a legal separation agreement. It is actually the easiest way and the least messy. It is called a conversion divorce – you convert the separation into a divorce after one year. It is not automatic – one of the two parties has to initiate it. The conversion process can be inititated by either party and the other party does not have to agree – as long as that legal separation was signed 12 months or more before.
There is also another ground for the divorce – and that is abandonment – one party leaves the marital home for one year or more without the agreement of the other party. The “no sex” for one year is actually a sub-clause of this – one party has abandonned the marital bed for one year or more without the agreement of the other party.
Parties wanting to get divorced amicably often use either the one year separation or agree that one party will sue the other on the grounds of refusal of sex for one year or more.
All that said, there still is a need to revise NY laws so that one party can request the dissolution of the marriage on the grounds of irreconcilable differences or for no grounds at all.
Mary Miller
Retired NY Divorce Mediator
I am a victim of divorce. My wife who was comminting adultery retained a very unethical lawyer and they did nothing but make unfounded accusations. It works and thats how they are getting alot of divorces. Its a lack of ethics both within society and the legal community. The law is religion, its called humanism. The sad truth is just like common law, it changes with the whims of man and what feels justified.I also am in appeals and my x might face the same situation in her current marriage. Marriage is a covenant…or used to be. Today its apparently whatever you feel like it is. New York should implement a willful cruel and inhumane clause which would allow a party to admit self guilt to the lack of respect of the marriage if no grounds exist. This would at least protect those who suffer the mass of unethical lawyers who help promote frivilous suits that should rightfully be appealed.