Feb. 26, 2026
Why California should stop invalidating Mahr under 'promotion of divorce' doctrine
California treats divorce neutrally, regulating its consequences rather than judging the decision, so courts should stop invalidating religious or cultural marital agreements like Mahr under the outdated "promotion of divorce" doctrine.
California does not have a public policy favoring marriage over divorce. Nor
does it maintain a public policy that disfavors one type of religious divorce
over another. Yet for nearly four decades, courts have invoked a judicially
constructed notion that certain agreements "promote divorce" and are therefore
void as against public policy. That doctrine--frequently used to invalidate
Islami...
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