The Maryland Senate has passed a bill to allow parents with children who are minors to file for a mutual-consent divorce without being separated for one year.
The measure was approved 33-14 Thursday. The bill now goes to the House.
In 2015, the General Assembly changed the law to allow married couples without children to get a mutual-consent divorce, so couples wouldn't have to be separated for a year to file if they worked out a final separation agreement. Sen. Robert Zirkin's measure this year extends that to couples with children.
Opponents say it's wrong to make it easier for people to get a divorce. But Zirkin, a Baltimore County Democrat, says the current law only makes divorce harder than it needs to be and more expensive.
