'Cooling-off' period cooling off divorce rates

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The 30-day "cooling-off" period before divorce proceedings are finalized is playing a critical role in reversing some couples' decisions on splitting, Hubei Daily reported on Wednesday.

Statistics from the civil affairs bureau of Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, showed that in January, the bureau accepted divorce applications from a total of 3,096 couples. After the 30-day "cooling-off" period and another 30 days for the bureau to review and process the applications, as of March 5, only 1,309 couples completed their divorce procedures and officially broke up.

That is to say about 58 percent of the couples who originally applied for divorce finally decided to give up on the decision, the report said.

The "cooling-off" period stipulated in the Civil Code and which came into effect in January is designed for couples to avoid making impulsive decisions and enables them to think it over after handing in their divorce papers to the civil affairs department.

During the period, either party can withdraw the application.

After 30 days, if both parties still insist on divorce, they should proceed to the civil affairs department in person and ask for the issuance of their divorce certificates. Otherwise, they will be treated as having withdrawn the application.

The news report also said the marriage registration office in Wuchang district in Wuhan has set up a psychological guidance program for couples who apply for divorce.

By taking part in surveys and with counselors' intervention, the couples receive professional assistance in their marriage.

As of March 10, at least 1,150 people who had handed in their application participated in the survey, which found that the top three "killers of marriage" were differences in personal characteristics, trivial matters in daily life and the lack of communication, the report said.