The Benefits of Marriage:
And Legislative Efforts to Encourage Marriage and Discourage Divorce

Family North Carolina Magazine—November/December 2008

By John Morris

Joan and Charles were married and were raising four children. Joan was a part time teacher and Charles was a full time university professor. On November 30, 1979, Joan filed an action in court requesting that she and Charles separate.¹ In her complaint she alleged that she and Charles were not happy.² She did not allege any misconduct on the part of her husband towards the family. On the contrary, she admitted “the children have a great deal of affection for their father. In fact, they all love him very much. The real root of the problem is that I don’t love him.”³ She asked the court to require Charles to separate himself from her and the children, move out of his home, award her custody of the children, provide shelter for herself and the children, give her an automobile and pay a fixed sum for child support.⁴ Charles, on the other hand, desired to work at their marriage. His desire was to provide the love, companionship, and society to Joan and their children.⁵

Unfortunately, many married couples in the United States go through what Joan and Charles experienced. Under our current no-fault divorce laws, the numbers of divorced or separated couples has increased, and Americans’ confidence in marriage has been shaken. It is estimated that for couples marrying today in the United States, the lifetime probability of divorce or separation remains between 40 and 50 percent.⁶ In North Carolina alone, there were an estimated 55,343 marriages and 36,378 divorces in 2006.⁷

Even though divorce is becoming increasingly common in North Carolina, studies show that staying married carries with it tangible benefits such as better health and economic standing. Furthermore, divorce affects more than estranged couples. There is also a financial burden that is ultimately paid by all taxpayers, even those who have never divorced. In light of the benefits of marriages and the costs of divorce, North Carolina’s lawmakers should work to pass laws that strengthen marriage and discourage divorce.

Individual Benefits
In order to understand why lawmakers should strengthen marriage in North Carolina, it is necessary to understand the many benefits associated with marriage. Married couples benefit personally from a committed marital union. Overall, married couples experience good health, economic benefits and a healthy family life. Children raised in married families also enjoy the benefits of stability and health.

Health Benefits. Married couples experience overall better health when compared with individuals who are divorced, separated or never married. A 2004 study by the Heritage Foundation revealed that 4.5 percent of married couples between the ages of 18 and 44 experienced poor health,⁸ whereas 5.2 percent of individuals who have never married, and 10.6 percent of individuals who are divorced or separated experienced poor health.⁹ Happily married couples also exhibited lower blood pressure when compared with singles. Men and women in happy marriages scored four points lower on 24-hour blood pressure monitoring than single adults.¹⁰ Overall, married men and women report less depression, less anxiety and lower levels of other types of psychological distress.¹¹ Married partners also hold each other accountable, thereby focusing on long-term health and increased compliance with medical regimens.¹²

Economic Benefits. There are also economic benefits for married couples. Married families generally have higher incomes. According to a recent study, the average joint annual income of parents who are in an intact first marriage is $41,000,¹³ whereas the average annual income in a divorced/separated family is $19,000.¹⁴ Not only do married couples benefit from higher incomes, but they also benefit from laws which confer benefits to married couples.

According to a recent Government Accountability Office study, the following 13 categories of statutes mention marriage: taxation, federal civilian and military service benefits, veterans benefits, social security, private employees benefits regulation, federal natural resources, crimes and family violence, trade, immigration, federal loans, financial disclosures/conflicts of interest, Indians, and miscellaneous laws.¹⁵ Marital benefits within these statutes include tax-free property transfers to surviving spouses, spousal eligibility for veteran’s pensions, medical care, nursing home care, burial rights, educational assistance, spousal social security benefits, Medicare coverage and Medicaid coverage.¹⁶

In light of marriage’s benefits, couples that are in committed, long lasting marriages experience better health, financial stability, and healthy families.

Benefits to Children. Children are more likely to thrive in a two-parent, married family than in any other living arrangement.¹⁷ For instance, serious child abuse is less likely to occur in married families. According to a recent study, a child living alone with a single mother is 14 times more likely to suffer serious physical abuse than a child living with both biological, married parents.¹⁸ Adolescents in married families are less likely to be depressed. The data show that 5.2 percent of adolescents living with intact married families reported that they felt sad most of the time,¹⁹ whereas 7 percent of adolescents living with divorced families reported that they felt sad most of the time.²⁰ Developmental problems in children are less common in two-parent families. For example, 38 percent of children living with a two-parent family were reported as being in the lower half of their school class academically,²¹ whereas 60 percent of children living with a single parent were in the lower half of their school class.²² Furthermore, adolescents living with two biological parents are healthier²³ and less likely to be sexually active²⁴ than adolescents who are raised in divorced single parent households.

Public Benefits
Marriage and divorce not only affects the personal, private lives of married couples, but society as a whole. When the rates of divorce increase, so do the concerns of taxpayers. According to a recent national study by the Institute for American Values, family fragmentation (divorce and unmarried childbearing) costs taxpayers at least $112 billion annually and up to $1 trillion per decade.²⁵ These figures account for expenditures on federal, state and local government programs, as well as foregone tax revenue. In North Carolina alone, the estimate of state and local taxpayer costs of family fragmentation totals $1.3 billion annually.²⁶ These costs are associated with state and local tax burdens, foregone tax revenue, justice system costs, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and child welfare.²⁷ North Carolina ranks tenth in the country on the total amount of taxpayer costs of family fragmentation.²⁸ The policy reasons for strengthening marriages are not just private issues concerning the well being of the individual and the family, they are also public issues for the taxpayer and society. High rates of divorce impose increased costs on taxpayers. A decrease in divorce rate together with an increase in the rate of stable marriages would result in significant savings for taxpayers.

Legislative Efforts to Strengthen Marriage and Discourage Divorce
In recent years, certain states have attempted to strengthen marriages by passing legislation and reserving funds to educate citizens on the positive impact of marriage in society. There are many ways in which the government can encourage marriage and discourage divorce. Two specific efforts seem particularly suited for North Carolina:

• Reform no-fault divorce law by extending waiting periods and requiring pre-divorce counseling;
  
• Use Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) revenues to fund programs that increase marriage and decrease divorce.
  

No-Fault Divorce. No-fault divorce occurs when one spouse successfully petitions for divorce over the objections of the other spouse, without alleging any fault. No-fault divorce appeared as early as 1947, when the National Association of Women Lawyers convention approved a no-fault bill.²⁹ By 1985, every state had no–fault divorce laws.³⁰ The original vision for creating no–fault divorce laws embodied mutual consent of both parties, waiting periods, and court-directed reconciliation counseling.³¹ Unfortunately no-fault divorce today has departed from that original vision. Mutual consent has become a unilateral action by one spouse; court ordered reconciliation counseling has faded away—counseling is viewed as too little, too late.³² Under no-fault divorce, one spouse can simply give up on the marriage before the other spouse recognizes a problem.³³ In fact, 25 percent of marital breakdowns involve a husband who has no idea that something is wrong until his wife says she wants a divorce.³⁴ States that have adopted no-fault divorce laws have applied no-fault principles to regulating grounds for divorce, property distribution, and alimony.

North Carolina has no requirement for either spouse to show fault when obtaining a divorce. The North Carolina no-fault divorce statute sets up a right to divorce based only on the requirements that the couple be legally separated for one year and that one spouse be a resident for six months.³⁵ Furthermore, North Carolina divorce law allows a unilateral divorce action from one spouse against the other.

With this in mind, there are several ways North Carolina divorce law could be reformed:

• Extend the waiting period for unilateral no-fault divorce; and
  
• Require couples in non-violent marriages who file for divorce to attend and participate in counseling in order to resolve differences and hopefully renew marital vows.
  

While neither of these two ways to reform divorce law are sufficient on their own, both reforms working in tandem could effectively reduce the divorce rate in North Carolina.

Currently, married couples seeking a divorce in North Carolina must be separated and apart for at least one year. However, there are states which require a separation period greater than one year. For example, Alabama³⁶, Illinois³⁷ and Pennsylvania³⁸ require at least two years of separation before a divorce will be granted. Consequently, these states have experienced lower rates of divorce than North Carolina,³⁹ which can be partly attributed to the extended separation periods. Extending the separation period for no-fault divorce would benefit married couples because they would have more time to work out their differences. A recent survey was conducted with couples who rated their marriages as unhappy at first and happy five years later.⁴⁰ One of the reasons for this dramatic turnaround was simply waiting. Since many couples have unhappy marriages due to outside pressures such as job demands and family demands, the passage of time changed the circumstances and the marriage improved.⁴¹ With an extended separation period, couples would have more time to work out differences, weather the storms of life, and participate in marriage counseling aimed at reconciliation.

Pre-Divorce Counseling. Couples in non-violent marriages could be required to attend counseling, especially if children are involved and/or if the divorce is a unilateral action initiated by one spouse. North Carolina should adopt a law that would require counseling prior to obtaining the divorce. Under Pennsylvania law, if the court determines there is a reasonable prospect of reconciliation, the court must require counseling.⁴² By incorporating a counseling requirement into North Carolina’s divorce law, couples would have a greater opportunity to resolve differences and save their marriage. Many unhappy couples who were considering divorce have survived because they sought outside counsel and worked at their marriage. One reason formerly unhappy couples survive in their marriages is because they work at communicating better. Some couples simply learn to take small steps—like listening to each other—which result in happier marriages.⁴³ Counseling would benefit a married couple considering divorce because they would hopefully become more aware of the necessity of communication.

TANF Funding to Encourage Marriage. State governments can also allocate funds towards marriage education. The federal government spends about $150 billion each year to subsidize single parent families,⁴⁴ in contrast to the estimated $150 million each year it spends to assist in reducing divorce.⁴⁵ In other words, for every $1,000 the government spends providing services to broken families, it only spends $1 trying to stop family breakdown.⁴⁶

One of the four stated purposes of the TANF program is to encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.⁴⁷ TANF programs typically assist families in a wide range of serious life problems such as depression, poor work force skills, and substance abuse.⁴⁸ Several states have allotted TANF funds to support marriage education and skills services:

• Oklahoma – Oklahoma Marriage Initiative: Oklahoma earmarked 10% of the state’s TANF surplus for programs designed to encourage marriage and reduce the divorce rate.⁴⁹ Efforts to strengthen marriages under this initiative include regular statewide marriage conferences and outreach programs to educate youth about marriage.⁵⁰
  
• Texas – “Twogether in Texas” Project: The Texas legislature committed $15 million of TANF funds for marriage initiatives.⁵¹ The Texas legislature has also passed a premarital bill, which waives the marriage license fee for couples participating in an 8-hour premarital class.⁵²
  
• Arizona – Marriage and Communication Skills Program: The Arizona legislature pledged $1.5 million in TANF funds to financially support programs such as marriage education and domestic violence prevention as well as workshops for families below the federal poverty level.⁵³
  

State legislatures can take a proactive rather than reactive role in preserving marriages and decreasing the rate of divorce by allotting funds to educate citizens on the vital role of the family in our society. This, in turn, will result in fewer funds being spent on services to broken families.

Conclusion
Society as a whole reaps numerous benefits from healthy marriages—including better health and finances for adults and better life outcomes for children. Although it is a challenge to promote lifelong monogamous marriages and discourage divorce, there are many initiatives government can undertake to encourage marriage. Efforts have already been realized in other states, which promote reconciliation between married couples seeking divorce and promote educating our youth about marriage. The benefits of marriage and the positive roles married couples and families play in our communities are too important for North Carolina not to undertake proven methods of strengthening and encouraging marriage.

Endnotes:

1. N.C.App. 394, 273 S.E.2d 731.
   
2. Ibid.
   
3. Ibid.
   
4. Ibid.
   
5. Ibid.
   
6. Desai, Amy. Should I Get a Divorce? Things You Should Know Before You Call the Attorney.
   Available online at: www.family.org/marriage/pdfs/shouldigetadivorce.pdf
   
7. “Births, Marriages, Divorces, and Deaths: Provisional Data for 2006.” National Vital Statistics
   Reports Vol. 55. No. 20. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. August 28, 2007.
   
8. “Marital Status and Health: United States, 1999-2002.” Advanced Data. No. 351. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. December 15, 2004.
   
9. Ibid.
   
10. BYU News Release. Happily Marrieds Have Lower Blood Pressure than Social Singles. Available online at: http://byunews.byu.edu/release.aspx?story=archive08/Mar/happilymarried
    
11. Waite, Linda J. and Maggie Gallagher. The Case for Marriage. New York: Doubleday, 2000.
    
12. Stanton, Glenn T. Why Marriage Matters. Pinon Press, 1997.
    
13. Federal Reserve Board. Survey of Consumer Finance, 1998. Available online at:
    www.heritage.org/Research/Features/Marriage/economic.cfm
    
14. Ibid.
    
15. Baker, Joshua K. “1,000 Federal Benefits of Marriage? An Analysis of the 1997 GAO Report.”
    iMapp Policy Brief. May 26, 2004.
    
16. Ibid.
    
17. Morse, Jennifer R. Smart Sex. Dallas: Spence Publishing Company, 2005.
    
18. Whelan, Robert. Broken Homes and Battered Children. Heritage analysis of British data based on Comparative Risk Ratios for Serious Abuse 1982-1988. Available online at:
    www.heritage.org/research/features/marriage/children.cfm
    
19. National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health. Wave II, 1996. Available online at:
    www.heritage.org/research/features/marriage/children.cfm
    
20. Ibid.
    
21. Heritage analysis based on Nicholas Zill, National Health Interview Survey, Child Health
    Supplement, 1981. Available online at: www.heritage.org/research/features/marriage/children.cfm
    
22. Ibid.
    
23. National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health, Wave I, 1995. Available online at:
    www.heritage.org/research/features/marriage/children.cfm
    
24. National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health, Wave II, 1996. Available online at:
    www.heritage.org/research/features/marriage/children.cfm
    
25. Scafidi, Benjamin. The Taxpayer Costs of Divorce and Unwed Childbearing: First-Ever Estimates for the Nation and for All Fifty States. Institute for American Values.
    
26. Ibid.
    
27. Ibid.
    
28. Ibid.
    
29. Baskerville, Stephen. The No-Blame Game: Why No-Fault Divorce is Our Most Dangerous Social Experiment. Crisis, Vol. 23. No. 3. March 2005.
    
30. Ibid.
    
31. Crouch, John. Updating the Braking Mechanisms in No-Fault Divorce Laws: A Proposal for an Early Warning/Prevention System for Divorce. Divorce Reform. Available online at:
    www.divorcereform.org/counselingperiods.html
    
32. Ibid.
    
33. Ibid.
    
34. Baskerville, Stephen. The No-Blame Game: Why No-Fault Divorce is Our Most Dangerous Social Experiment. Crisis, Vol. 23. No. 3. March 2005.
    
35. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-6
    
36. Ala. Code § 30-2-1
    
37. 750 ILCS 5 § 401
    
38. 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 3301
    
39. “Births, Marriages, Divorces, and Deaths: Provisional Data for 2006.” National Vital Statistics
    Reports Vol. 55. No. 20. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. August 28, 2007.
    
40. Linda J. Waite, Don Browning, William J. Doherty, Maggie Gallagher, Ye Luo, and Scott M. Stanley Does Divorce Make People Happy? Findings from a Study of Unhappy Marriages. Institute for American Values. Available online at http://www.americanvalues.org/html/r-unhappy_ii.html
    
41. Desai, Amy. Should I Get a Divorce? Things You Should Know Before You Call the Attorney.
    Available online at: www.family.org/marriage/pdfs/shouldigetadivorce.pdf
    
42. 23 Pa.C.S.A. § 3301(d)
    
43. Desai, Amy. Should I Get a Divorce? Things You Should Know Before You Call the Attorney.
    Available online at: www.family.org/marriage/pdfs/shouldigetadivorce.pdf
    
44. Ibid.
    
45. Ibid.
    
46. Ibid.
    
47. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
    Information Memorandum.” No. TANF-ACF-IM-2004-02. September 30, 2004. Available online at: www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/policy/im-ofa/2004/im2004-2.htm
    
48. Ibid.
    
49. Fagan, Patrick F. “Encouraging Marriage and Discouraging Divorce.” The Heritage Foundation
    Backgrounder No. 1421. March 26, 2001.
    
50. Ibid.
    
51. Fatherhood and Marriage Leadership Institute. “Famli Success Stories.” Available online at:
    http://www.famli.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=55&Itemid=1
    
52. Ibid.
    
53. Commission on Marriage and Family Support Initiatives. “The One-Percent Solution: Using TANF Funds to Empower Families and Promote Healthy Marriages in Florida.” February 2008. Available online at: http://floridafamilies.org/pdfs/2008TANFOnePercentBreif.pdf