Untying the Knot
Local divorce rates stay steady as national rates show decline
By Bobbi Mlynar
Monday, June 11, 2007
Lyon County’s divorce rate has not yet set the downward trend recently reported by national media.
A CBS story said that the national per-capita divorce rate has declined steadily since peaking in 1981, and now is at its lowest level — 3.6 divorces per 1,000 people — since 1970.
According to records provided by Jeanne Turner, clerk of the District Court, divorce filings in recent years have been on the increase. They could be slowing, if filings during the remainder of the year stay at the same pace for the first few months of 2007. Now, however, it is too soon to predict a drop.
From Jan. 1 through May 15, 49 people had filed for divorce, compared to 63 for the same period in 2006.
“But if you look at the year as a whole, in 2005, I had 132 and in 2006, I had 142,” Turner said.
Divorces fall under the “Domestic” cases category in court files and those types of cases, in general, are on the rise here and across the state.
“Our numbers, when you look from 2003 to 2006, are going up,” Turner said. “Now, when I say this, I mean total domestic. ... You’ve got all those other things in there that are different than divorce.”
That includes paternity suits, protection from abuse or stalking, separate maintenance, reviews of child support and other types of domestic lawsuits.
The summary of caseload filings from the Kansas Judicial Branch records shows a steady increase in the state’s domestic cases the past several years, from 33,188 in 2001 to 38,137 in 2005.
Emporia attorney Deborah Huth handles a number of those types of cases in her law practice.
“I see a lot of (married) people who have lived together for a period of time and then do end up getting divorced,” she said. “I think I see more paternity actions than I used to, involving people who didn’t get married but have children.”
Huth also has noticed an increase in the number of suits filed to recoup money for birthing expenses and support reimbursements to parents and to the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services.
“If you don’t pay privately for all of the birthing expenses and so on, at some point in time, SRS will seek reimbursement from the natural father ... particularly if you get any kind of cash assistance,” Huth said, citing food stamps or assistance through the Women’s, Infant’s and Children’s Nutrition Program (WIC) as keys for SRS.
“Then they tend to bring an action on behalf of the state for reimbursement. That is something that I see more of now,” Huth said.
Child support payments often are court-ordered to be deducted from the parents’ wages and sent by employers for disbursement to the recipients.
Huth said that parents may be participating more in the decision-making processes involved in divorce, and that can help make more equitable settlements and less contentiousness later.
“Mediation services at the court ... are available for persons who want to try to save on some of the expense but need a third party to assist them in reaching that agreement,” she said. “The more decision-making authority that rests with the parties, the more likely it is they’re going to like the result and the more likely they are going to be able to live with the result.”
Those who cannot agree on settlements will find their assets and custody arrangements made by judges, based on state law.
“Fair, just and equitable,” Huth said, “and ‘equitable’ normally means ‘equal, unless there’s a reason to do otherwise.’”
If a spouse has brought 100 acres of land into a marriage, the land may be “equitably” returned to the spouse that originally owned it, she said as an example.
“Commonly, they will give it back,” she said. “They’re not required to do so. It just depends on the circumstances.”
Common-law marriages that end in divorce are governed by the same laws as traditional marriages. The period of time a couple has lived together has nothing to do with creating a common-law marriage, Huth said.
The couple must present an agreement between the parties that they are married, “and then you have to hold yourself out to the public as being married,” she said.
Filing income tax returns as a married couple is an obvious way to establish a common-law marriage.
“If you tell Uncle Sam you’re married, that’s pretty much telling everyone that you’re married,” Huth said.
Issues involving children require more flexibility and creativity, and parents are discovering more options in accommodating the needs of ex-spouses and children.
Lyon County District Court requires parents of minor children to attend a “Parenting After Divorce” workshop given through the Mental Health Center of East Central Kansas. It is intended to help parents focus on the needs of the children rather than the animosities they may hold against each other.
Parents are encouraged to work together on visitations, holidays and other parenting issues to allow “floating” schedules for those who have unusual work hours.
A set of holiday visitation guidelines has been implemented in Lyon County and, unless parents agree otherwise, “that’s what they’re going to use and that’s what they’re stuck with. ...
“Today you have so many different work schedules,” Huth said. “It just requires a lot of cooperation between the parties to do what’s probably best for the children.”