Gaston County's current divorce rate is 59 percent- three percent more than North Carolina's 56 percent, and 9 percent higher than the national average of 50 percent.

Now, a delegation to the North Carolina General Assembly is asking Gaston County commissioners for a thirty-day waiting period before marriages are performed in the state, in which time couples are required to take premarital counseling.  The thirty-day period could only be waived with certification of prior premarital counseling.

The idea for the resolution initially came from the First Things First of Gaston County organization, according to State Representative Will Neumann, whose mission is "to bring better quality of life by strengthening families, specifically reducing divorce, out-of-wedlock births and the number of absent parents".

No bill has currently been introduced, but officials believe that what is now being proposed in Gaston County could easily spread state-wide. 

If you or someone you know is considering divorce, contact the Raleigh divorce lawyers of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 to learn more about your rights.