A member of the Kansas House recently introduced legislation to abolish no-fault divorce in the Sunflower state. Republican Keith Esau, of Olathe, introduced the bill Thursday in the House Judiciary Committee for a fellow lawmaker whom he said he did not have permission to identify. Esau, who serves on the judiciary panel, says he supports the measure. He says no-fault divorce gives people an easy way out of marriage.
The Wichita Eagle reports the bill would remove “incompatibility” as a valid reason for divorce. Instead, people who file for divorce would have to prove their spouses’ fault.
Another Judiciary Committee member, Democrat Jim Ward of Wichita, opposes the idea. Ward has handled divorces in his law practice and says contentious divorces are especially hard when children are involved.
All jurisdictions in the United States now have some form of no-fault divorce.