HB 452 -- Covenant Marriages

Sponsor:  Roark

This bill establishes an alternative to a traditional marriage
called a covenant marriage.  A covenant marriage is entered into
by one male and one female who understand that marriage is a
lifelong relationship.  Premarital counseling is required, and
the spouses' ability to legally separate or dissolve the marriage
is limited.  In its main provisions, the bill:

(1)  Requires couples wishing to enter into a covenant marriage
to execute and file a declaration of intent along with their
marriage license.  The declaration will contain:

(a)  A recitation that the parties undertake a covenant marriage
with full knowledge of the commitment it requires;

(b)  An affidavit by the parties declaring that they have
received premarital counseling;

(c)  A notarized attestation by the person performing the
premarital counseling confirming the parties completion of the
counseling; and

(d)  The notarized signatures of both parties.  However, if one
or both of the individuals are minors, the written consent of the
persons required to consent to a minor's marriage pursuant to
Section 451.090, RSMo, is also required;

(2)  Requires that it be indicated on the marriage license if the
parties have undertaken a covenant marriage;

(3)  Requires the officers issuing covenant marriage licenses to
forward copies of covenant marriage declarations once a month to
the State Registrar of Vital Records;

(4)  Allows married couples to convert their marriages into a
covenant marriage by executing a declaration of intent with
substantially the same contents as a declaration executed by an
unmarried couple;

(5)  Prohibits dissolution of a covenant marriage unless the
parties first obtained counseling and then only upon certain
specified grounds, including:

(a)  Adultery;

(b)  A spouse's commission of a felony resulting in a sentence of
death or imprisonment;

(c)  A spouse's abandonment of the marital home for a period of
two years and refusal to return;

(d)  Abuse of the petitioning spouse, a child of one of the
spouses, or another relative of one of the spouses living in the
marital home;

(e)  A spouse's residential separation without reconciliation for
a period of two years;

(f)  A spouse's residential separation for a period of two years
following a judgment of separation if there is no minor child of
the marriage;

(g)  A spouse's residential separation for a period of two years
following a judgment of separation if there is a minor child of
the marriage.  If child abuse was the basis of the judgment of
separation, the subsequent required period of residential
separation is one year;

(h)  A spouse's residential separation for at least one year from
the date of the legal separation;

(h)  Habitual drunkenness or drug abuse by one spouse;

(6)  Prohibits one spouse from obtaining a judgment of separation
within a covenant marriage unless the couple has obtained marital
counseling and then only upon specified grounds, including:

(a)  Adultery;

(b)  A spouse's commission of a felony resulting in a sentence of
death or imprisonment;

(c)  A spouse's abandonment of the marital home for a period of
two years and refusal to return;

(d)  Abuse of the petitioning spouse, a child of one of the
spouses, or another relative of one of the spouses living in the
marital home;

(e)  A spouse's residential separation for a period of two years;

(f)  Habitual intemperance or cruel treatment by one spouse; and

(7)  Requires the Office of the Attorney General by August 28,
2005, to promulgate an informational pamphlet entitled "Covenant
Marriage Act" outlining the consequences of entering into a
covenant marriage.  The pamphlet will be available to all
counselors who perform covenant marriage premarital counseling.

Missouri House of Representatives
93rd General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated August 25, 2005 at 1:19 pm