Prenuptial Agreements Can Help
Today, in Israel, some reluctant husbands are jailed until their issue is resolved. However, this is not the case in the United States, where secular courts cannot interfere in a religious divorce and where violence usually ends up in an arrest, as was the case of a Lakewood, N.J. couple apprehended for arranging the kidnapping and beating of a man who refused to give a get. So now, rabbis are looking to promote a more civilized religious prenuptial agreement. There are many versions of this agreement, but one widely used, based in New York, is called the Beth Din of America.
Couples who sign the Beth Din of America halachic prenuptial agreement -“Halachic” means Jewish law- agree to have religious aspects of their divorce decided by a Jewish court. And what’s more important, the husband agrees to pay his wife $150 per day if they separate. This simply means he will support his wife until he gives her the get.
In 2011, Ms. Siegel, a Chicago filmmaker, made the documentary “Women Unchained” about Jewish women whose husbands refuse to give a religious divorce or get. Rabbi Gedalia Dov Schwartz, who is featured in “Women Unchained,” spoke at a panel discussion at Spertus, a Jewish educational center in Chicago, and mentioned that one possible hope for chained wives is an annulment.
Rabbi Schwartz says that if a marriage began under false pretenses, it may be considered never to have taken place. Such a case might involve a spouse’s failure to disclose material facts, such as a gambling addiction or a sexual preference that is not of their spouse.
What Options Exist?
If you are contemplating a divorce, you may want to contact the Stange Law Firm, PC. We are a firm that focuses exclusively on family law, including divorce, child custody, child support, paternity, prenuptial agreements, and annulments, among many other domestic relations issues.
Kirk Stange is a Founding Partner of the firm and has a book, Prenuptial Agreements, Line by Line, set to release soon through Aspatore Publishing. To schedule a confidential half-hour consultation with one of our attorneys, call 855-805-0595 or visit us online.
Source: Where Divorce Can Be Denied, Orthodox Jews Look to Prenuptial Contracts, By Mark Oppenheimer, The New York Times
