First of several divorce bills advance

The first of a half-dozen divorce-related bills coming before lawmakers this session was passed by a House committee Monday.

Rep. Ben Ferry's HB4 was approved by the House Judiciary Committee after a lengthy debate — legislators finally deciding not to make an unhappy spouse sign an oath that they were abused by their partner in order to opt out of mandatory mediation.

Ferry, R-Corinne, seeks to expand the current 3rd District Court's divorce mediation program throughout the state. Under the bill in the legal divorce process, without a special waiver, every couple would have to attend at least one mediation session, where all kinds of issues in the he said/she said dispute can be discussed.

Coming soon will be Rep. Peggy Wallace's HB56, the most controversial divorce bill of the session. Wallace wants to repeal Utah's "no fault" divorce statute. Monday, Wallace, R-West Jordan, said she's trying to get legislative budgeters to put a price tag on what the state spends in court costs for each divorce.

"We want to know the costs to the state for divorce," said Wallace, who believes that by making divorces more difficult to obtain, some unhappy couples will try to work things out and, thus, save themselves, their children and society at large the costs of broken marriages.

State court administrators and family law experts said the current mediation program is highly successful, with a lengthy study showing mediation not only makes the legal process of divorce quicker and easier but helps divorced couples deal with each other and their children better for years to come.

Mediation greatly "adds to cooperation between the two parties," said Lori Nelson of the Utah State Bar's family law section.

Ferry and several advocates balked, however, at an attempt by Rep. Scott Wyatt, R-Logan, to formalize a process whereby a spouse can only get out of mediation, claiming spousal abuse, if they swear an oath that such abuse really took place.

Rep. Lori Fowlke, R-Orem, is a court-certified mediator. She said divorce is an emotional process, and spouses regularly claim some kind of abuse not only to try to get a legal advantage in contentious split-ups but just to fight with the other person.

"A lot of (divorcing couples) file a protective order," she said. "They ratchet up emotions in the proceedings; they muddy the waters to get an out. Some make claims just to raise the cost" of divorce proceedings, Fowlke said.