Customs: Alabamy Unbound

Time was when any Hollywood name worthy of a headline always got her divorce in Nevada—preferably Reno. The divorce mills there were the fastest in the nation. A divorce-bound glamour puss had only to take up "residence" for six weeks at a guest ranch and gaming table. But in recent years, Nevada's divorce rate has fallen consistently. In fact, there has been such a drop in tabloid-fodder divorces that the New York Daily News has decided to close down its Reno bureau.

The fact is that for several years now, the easiest divorce terms in the nation are to be found not in Nevada but in Alabama. A divorce seeker need show up in Alabama only long enough to meet a lawyer, pay a fee, fill out the papers and wait a few hours. The lawyer shoots off usually to a rural county, hires a local lawyer to handle the court work, gets a decree and hops back to his client. All this can take little more than 24 hours—so why go to Nevada for six weeks?

Before 1945, Alabama required a year's residence. But in that year, the legislature eliminated the requirement, and the quickie and painless divorce has been a goldmine business ever since. In 1960, Alabama granted some 17,328 divorces (v. 9,274 for all Nevada. Reno included), and this year the total will be even higher. In fact, the state has won such repute as a divorce mill (as well as a place that goes easy on minor perjuries), that a group of embarrassed jurists has been trying vainly to get the old one-year, residency requirement reinstated.

There is some doubt that the law will be changed, however. The divorce business is bringing a lot of money into Alabama, even though the lawyers (who average $250 on an ordinary case) get most of the take. But some observers can see other advantages. After all, TV's John Daly got his divorce in Alabama, and so did Tina Onassis, Author Grace (Peyton Place) Metalious, and Lady Iris Mountbatten. It is quite conceivable that these stars would have never fallen into Alabama, even for 24 hours, if they had not needed a divorce.