In a follow up to this article, the Sun-Sentinel reports about a woman in Boca Raton, FL who is being denied a “get” (Jewish divorce document) despite having a civil divorce. The husband, a doctor, has had protesters outside his office for the last few days as a result.
The wife claims that he is withholding the get until all outstanding issues have been resolved. A get is required for he to remarry. The husband claims that he has signed the get but just hasn’t dropped it off yet to his attorney. He is not orthodox, so he has less interest in granting it.
This is why the law in New York and the one proposed in Maryland exists.