Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1909-07-14
DIVORCES ARE HIT
BY THE NEW LAW
DEGREES Not In Force For a Year,
Cutting Off Quick Remarriage.


Hereafter marriages within one
year after divorce has been obtained
in Wisconsin will make the parties
liable to prosecution on a criminal
charge. The new divorce law passed
at the recent session of the Legislature
will go into effect tomorrow and per-
sons seeking a divorce will find the
pathway more thorny. The statute
provides for the Office of divorce
counsel, to which one attorney in
each county is appointed. The
law, which is known as chapter 1913
laws of 1909 provides Judgment in
divorce shall not be effective within
one year.
In the past the law was such that
court might grant permission for a
divorced party to remarry within a
year. Then the legislature passed
new law taking away that right.
VISIT OTHER STATES.
Many divorced persons took ad-
vantage of the laws of other states by
going there to be married. Several
cases involving thu constructions of
Wills, where large sums of money
were to be divided. came to the
supreme court involving the construc-
tion of the marriage law and the
court found that such marriages were
null and void.
But the new law of this year makes
judgments of divorce non effective
until after one year Therefore
although decree may have been en-
tered, the parties are still married
and not at liberty to remarry within
year, and to do SO would make
them liable to the charge of bigamv.
The new law also makes it neces-
sary for the complaining party in
divorce suit to have had a residence
in Wisconsin of two years. Previously
one years residence was all that was
necessary to establish a residence for
divorce.
CAN GATHER EVIDENCE.
The new office Of divorce counsel is
uasi judicial in character. In any
action to affirm or annul a marriage
or in any action for a divorce. the
plaintiff mus serve upon the divorce
counsel copy of the complaint within
ten days after making service upon
the defendant. No decree shall -
granted by the court until the divorce
counsel shall have appeared in open
court and, in behalf of the public,
snail have made fair and impartial
presentation as to the merits of the
case and the rights and interests of
the parties.
The counsel is empowered to issue
subpoenas and to compel persons to
testify under oath. In all such
cases, if he finds facts that show
either party has been guilty Of an
offense against the criminal laws, it
shall be his duty to have criminal
complaint issued against the party
and have him or her brought to trial
on that charge.
UNIFORMITY IS SOUGHT.
The findings and judgment of the
court in every divorce action are to be
submitted to the divorce counsel and
he will receive fee of $40 for each
divorce case in which he participates,
but the court may in its Judgment
require either party to, pay larger
sum if the amount of time spent on
the case warrants such an action,
The law was passed to make the
statute upon divorces in Wisconsin
uniform with number of other
states. For a number of years Judge
E. Ray Stevens of Madison has been
seeking to nave passed strong
divorce law and the members Of the
bar believe this viii be what is de-
sired. Madison State Journal.