Skip to main content Skip to office menu Skip to footer
Capital IconMinnesota Legislature

Legislative News and Views - Rep. John Lesch (DFL)

Back to profile

Minnesota Lawmakers Announce Legislation to Reform Divorce Process

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

March 4, 2015

Proposal aims to reduce conflict and improve cooperation in divorce by creating an administrative alternative to court-based divorce

ST. PAUL, MN – Today, State Representative John Lesch (DFL – St. Paul) and Senator Sandra Pappas (DFL – St. Paul) have unveiled legislation that would create a new administrative path to divorce outside the court system for Minnesota couples. Cooperative Private Divorce would allow couples to form agreements without filing with a court or needing the approval of a judge.

The traditional court-based system would remain in place for those who choose it. The bill aims to create a non-adversarial administrative process to get a divorce, likely administered through the Minnesota Bureau of Mediation Services.

“No couple plans on getting a divorce when they enter into a marriage,” said Rep. John Lesch.
“I don’t think that two people who agree to end a marriage should be forced to battle each other in expensive courtroom proceedings, if they’ve already reached what should be the hardest part of the divorce process – the decision itself. Families in the middle of the divorce process deserve the ability to maintain healthy, transparent relationships, and this bill encourages that, and has the potential to save families thousands of dollars in unnecessary legal costs and hardship.”

The bill, HF1348, would be the most significant change to divorce law since “no fault” divorce became law 45 years ago.  The authors aim to change the legal culture of encouraging adversarial behavior between opposing spouses and their lawyers, by instead creating an opportunity for couples to avoid emotional and financial damage for children, adults, and their community.

“If two people decide that a courtroom proceeding is unnecessary with regards to their divorce, they should not be required to deal with the legal costs and extensive process,” said Sen. Pappas. “Although some believe divorce to be synonymous with conflict, oftentimes couples civilly decide to part ways. For those couples, taking the court process out of the equation makes much more sense.”

Under the proposed changes, Minnesota couples seeking a divorce would begin an online orientation that describes the process of Cooperative Divorce.  After completing this orientation, the spouses would submit their “Intent to Divorce” to a state agency, most likely the Bureau of Mediation Services, with the records being kept private.  The couple may choose to employ any advocates or professionals they see fit, and after a 90 day waiting period they may submit a “Declaration of Divorce” containing their agreements on the topics involved in the divorce. 

There would be no third party review, or judicial approval of the agreements other than to ensure that the filing process is complete.  The couple would then receive a “Certificate of Divorce”, also maintaining their privacy.  These agreements can be consensually modified at any time, and either spouse can decide to access the court at any time in the process.

Dr. Bill Doherty, a University of Minnesota professor and project director for “Minnesota Couples on the Brink”, spoke to the bill’s common sense approach.

“We need a way for couples to opt out of court-based divorce and into a system entirely outside of the court,” said Doherty. “People get married without courts, form and dissolve businesses without courts, write and execute wills without courts—they should be able to divorce without courts.”

Advocates who have experienced the divorce process also spoke in favor of the change in law.

“From my own experience in the adversarial court system, we could not work cooperatively until we put the court system behind us,” said Susan Carpenter speaking in support of the bill. “The decision to divorce took 6 months of private discussions and we had reached an agreement on most things, but when we entered the court process our agreement was destroyed. The process turned into 8 years of hostility. I had to take drastic and expensive action to get my family out of court, but I was glad I did. Once we had to do it on our own, we learned to cooperate and get along. We are not best friends, but we don't fight anymore.”

Rep. John Lesch encourages constituents to contact him on any issue.  He can be reached by email at rep.john.lesch@house.mn or phone at 651-296-4224.

###