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Before a married person with children can even file for divorce, they would need to complete a free state "divorce orientation" course, under a bill that cleared its first legislative hurdle Wednesday. The measure also would reinstate a 90-day "cooling-off period" between when someone files for divorce and when it may be finalized.
Both provisions are included in HB290, which the House Health and Human Services Committee approved 5-3 and sent to the full House.
Its sponsor, Rep. Jim Nielson, R-Bountiful, said current law mandates that an orientation course be taken within 60 days after filing for divorce — but people need not complete it until just before the divorce is finalized.
He said the purpose of the course is to help them know all options they face, including ways to possibly save money with arbitration. But if they wait until the process is nearly complete to take the class, he said it cannot help them much.
However, it does allow victims of domestic abuse to file for divorce without the class, to avoid tipping off an abusive spouse that they are considering divorce.
The bill would cost the state an estimated $142,500 a year, because it would make the course free — instead of charging a fee as it does now.