By DAN IZENBERG
The Tel Aviv Family District Court has approved an agreement between a married couple whereby if either one refuses to agree to a divorce within 120 days, he or she must pay the other NIS 10,000 a month.
Their lawyer, Irit Reichman, said the couple's aim was to prevent either one from deliberately dragging out divorce proceedings or trying to extort better material terms from the other in return for a divorce.
The couple also wrote that should one of them demand a divorce, he or she would not have to give a reason, nor would the reason have to be a legally recognized justification for divorce.
Should one formally request a divorce from the other, either partner may ask the other to go to marriage counseling to see if their marriage can be saved, and the other must cooperate in giving the counseling a fair chance. Furthermore, in case of specific disagreements, both sides agree to apply to a mediator in an effort to bridge the gap between them.
If one side refuses to comply with these conditions, the other may apply to family court to order him or her to do so.
If, after 120 days, the person who initiated the divorce demand has not reconsidered, the other will start paying NIS 10,000 per month until he or she agrees.
Reichman said that the agreement provided a solution for couples wishing to marry according to Jewish law but afraid of the frequently long and drawn-out divorce procedures of the rabbinical court.
"In this case, it is certain there will be an uncontested divorce, which will save the misery that is usually associated with divorce and the proceedings in the rabbinical court," said Reichman.
The lawyer also pointed out that the couple had agreed to this arrangement of their own free will and with the intention "of leaving the door wide open to either side to withdraw from the marital relationship."
The agreement was approved by Judge Varda Plaut.
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