A new bill could allow New Jersey residents and guests to secure divorces more easily. Under current state law, couples that seek an uncontested divorce must wait for a minimum of six months before filing the appropriate paperwork. Even couples that can prove their marriage is not working are required to wait at least three months. However, these waiting periods could soon be abolished, due to a bill currently awaiting the approval of New Jersey's governor.

The bill, which has already passed both houses of the New Jersey Legislature, would also allow couples to be married without first going through New Jersey's mandatory 72-hour waiting period. The fee to acquire a marriage license would also be increased from $28 to $60. The easier divorces and marriages brought about by the bill may be an effort to allow Atlantic City and other New Jersey municipalities to conduct marriages like Las Vegas, which earned the city about $722 million in 2010.

The details of the how the faster divorces will work have yet to be determined, but supporters of the bill hope that easier annulments and marriages will help draw visitors and out-of-state money to New Jersey. The bills critics say it threatens to negatively affect the sanctity of marriage.

The stance of New Jersey's governor on the bill is unclear, but most lawmakers and experts expect that he will sign the bill into law without excessive deliberation. The law would make New Jersey one of just a few northeastern states without waiting periods for divorce and marriage. Nationally, 29 states currently do not require such periods.

Source: Gant Daily, "It just got easier to get married and divorced in New Jersey," Diane Alter, Jan. 13, 2012