Charlotte Divorce Lawyer BlogIf you are a married American, your marriage is between 40 and 50 percent likely to end in divorce. Although the national divorce rate has steadily dropped since peaking at 50 percent in the 1980s, the prevalent public opinion is still that half of all marriages end in divorce. According to The National Marriage Project’s “State of Our Unions” Report for 2009, modern marriages are getting more and more resilient because people are getting better and more careful about picking their significant others.
Articles Posted in Separation
15 Ways to Predict Divorce
According to a recent article in The Daily Beast, there are quite a few ways to predict whether a marriage is likely to end in divorce, including details as minor as smoking habits of spouses. Researchers who studied marriage success rates across the country have found 15 of the top ways to gauge whether a marriage will stand the test of time. Obviously, nobody can predict the future. But, this is some food for thought.
Autism and Divorce
Historically, media reports and autism advocacy groups have cited a statistic that the divorce rate in families with autistic children is approximately 80 percent. However, a new scientific analysis indicates that this figure is quite inaccurate.
The Center for Autism and Related Disorders at Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore surveyed data from the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health. After reviewing information from almost 78,000 children, both with and without autism, researchers found that autism had practically no effect on the likelihood that a child would belong to a family with two married parents.
Although research indicates that autism puts extra stress on a marriage, it does not follow logically that these families also have the highest rate of divorce. Researchers anticipate that this study will offer hope to married couples facing a diagnosis of autism in their family.
Charlotte, North Carolina Makes Top 10 in Divorce Rates
According to a recent report in Men’s Health magazine, couples living in Charlotte are among the most likely to be doomed to divorce (#6 Nationally). The report, which ranked the top 100 U.S. cities with the highest rates of divorce, considered multiple factors, including: the rate of failed marriages, the stringency of state divorce laws, the percentage of the population who had divorced, and the number of licensed marriage and family therapists in the cities.
Divorce rates were highest in Cheyenne (Wyoming), Las Vegas, Nevada, and Billings (Montana), followed closely by Reno, Little Rock, Charlotte, and Tulsa. Divorces were least likely to occur in two southern cities: Columbia, South Carolina and El Paso, Texas. However, Riverside, California and Providence, Rhode Island, did not fall far behind in the rankings of the top cities of marital bliss.
According to statistics from 2007, which was the last year for which divorce ratios were calculated, the states of Nevada, Arkansas, Oklahoma, West Virginia, and Wyoming have the highest overall divorce rates in the country.
“How We Met” Stories May Predict Divorce
As recently reported by MSNBC, the traditional “how we met” stories told by couples may be an accurate predictor of whether marital strife lies ahead. Studies show that every couple’s back story reveals a great deal about the present state of their relationship, depending on how each individual spouse tells the story.
Spouses who are in happy marriages often recalled the earlier years of their relationship fondly and nostalgically, even when the actual circumstances of the marriage were not happy, such as when the couple was struggling financially. Conversely, unhappy couples tended to recall their past times together negatively, regardless of whether the circumstances of the early years were positive.
Researchers indicate that “how we met” stories are clearly predictive of future behavior because couples’ perceptions shift when they become dissatisfied with their marriages. Those who are happy in their relationships tend to remember the earlier years with the same optimism, whereas those who are in a current state of discontent find themselves more easily recalling the negative aspects of the earlier years, rather than the good times.
Too Broke To Divorce?
As recently reported by The Washington Post, some married couples are now deciding to wait out the economic downturn rather than suffer the financial consequences of divorce. Alternatively, many spouses who desire to go their separate ways are turning to different options, such as living together while considering themselves technically separated. This, of course, raises a legal issue of whether the spouses are “separated” under the law.
Couples who initiate divorce proceedings during these tough economic times are faced with the traditional legal, household, and support expenses; however, those who have been hit hard by the economic downturn are finding it increasingly difficult to divide into two households. This inability to pay the expenses of maintaining two households translates into the unfortunate reality that many couples face today: staying in an unhappy marriage in order to avoid greater financial stress and complications.
Although studies indicate that the national divorce rate has decreased slightly in the past few years, this new information indicates that more couples may be staying together simply because they cannot afford to be apart.
Living Together Before Marriage Doesn’t Mean Divorce
As reported by the New York Daily News, living together before marriage doesn’t significantly raise likelihood of divorce. A new report from the National Center for Health Statistics, based on the National Survey of Family Growth, indicates that living together before marriage doesn’t necessarily increase the risk of divorce. However, those who get engaged or married before cohabitating are still slightly more likely to stay together.
Although traditional beliefs and past studies posit the importance of waiting to cohabitate, this new study indicates that approximately 55% of couples who cohabitate before marriage last for an entire decade of marriage. Conversely, 65% of couples who waited to cohabitate until they were engaged or married lasted for 10 years.
However, the authors of the study stress that its not cohabitation that is key – it’s the nature of the commitment. Couples who choose to cohabitate either premaritally or postmaritally are most likely to make it last when they enter into cohabitation with a clear vision for their committed future together.
Charlotte Divorce Cases are Affected by Changing Gender Roles
As previously discussed here (In the Battle of the Fit Parents, Breadwinning Moms are Losing Child Custody , “Deadbeat Moms” in Charlotte, North Carolina? What can lawyers do? and Men Marrying (and Divorcing) Wealthier Women?), American households are experiencing a gender role reversal with regard to levels of marital income.
This so called “rise of wives” has sparked a debate regarding whether financially successful women are a threat to traditional marriage roles. However, as recently reported by The New York Times, evidence shows that the shift within marriages has had a positive effect on marital stability and has contributed to lower divorce rates.
Statistics indicate that the more financial independence and education a woman attains, the more likely she is to stay married, as the end result is a marriage that is more balanced and equitable to both spouses.
Mecklenburg County Working to Take Over Child Support Enforcement
As we have discussed here previously (Mecklenburg County Child Support Cases Affected? Some North Carolina Counties Scrambling for Planned Child Support Enforcement Takeover), North Carolina will no longer bear the responsibility for enforcing child support obligations. Mecklenburg County is one of the counties which currently relies on the state for child support enforcement. The Charlotte Observer reports that Mecklenburg County is evaluating various options for taking over the responsibility for enforcement of its child support cases. Starting July 1, 2010 Mecklenburg County and 27 other counties must take over the enforcement of child support payments for the cases pending in their respective counties.
The issue comes up again for the County commissioners again on Wednesday. Thus far, the evaluations have focused primarily on whether to privatize the service. The lowest bid thus far from a private contractor was $600,000.00. The cost for implementing the program utilizing a consultant and county staff would cost approximatley $1.5 million dollars. Some appear to be in favor of hiring a private company to handle the child support enforcement for at least the first two years while others question whether a private company can be as effective as the current system.
Men Marrying (and Divorcing) Wealthier Women?
As reported by CNNMoney.com according to a recent study released by the Pew Research Center, the traditional financial roles in American homes are changing. This study of married households suggests that 22% of men were making less money than their wives in 2007.
Comparatively, only 4% of men made less money than their wives in 1970. The report largely attributes this dramatic shift in marital income to a similar shift in education patterns. More women than ever before are pursuing an education in order to work outside the home.
A recent New York Times’ article discussed this new role reversal and its effect on modern marriages and the selection of marriage partners.