divorce statistics

The strange world of family law in India

Published on: November 22, 2016 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold answers the question: “What does a “No-Fault’ divorce mean in NC?”

Recently released statistics from the National Center for Family & Marriage Research indicate that Americans are increasingly less likely to divorce. The numbers reveal that the divorce rate is at its lowest level in more than 35 years. Though the rate in the U.S. may be low, it’s nowhere near as low as it is in India. A recent New York Times article explored some of the bizarre and interesting legal obstacles couples in India must combat if they want to end their marriages.

What Do Children Think About Divorce?

Published on: November 24, 2015 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “How can an attorney help me with my Divorce or Separation in North Carolina?”

A recent survey conducted by a British family law organization, Resolution, shed light on the divorce process by revealing some interesting statistics. Importantly, and unusually, the survey did not focus on the adults, but instead surveyed children, asking them their thoughts on divorce and ideas about what parents can do to make the process easier on the kids. Specifically, the group focused on hundreds of young people between the ages of 14 and 22 whose parents had gone through a divorce. To find out more about what the survey revealed about children and divorce, keep reading.

New study claims that having a child before marriage no longer raises divorce odds

Published on: September 24, 2015 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Charlotte Divorce Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What children’s expenses are covered by child support?”

In recent decades, sociological research has consistently found that couples who had a child before marriage were much more likely to divorce than couples who married first. However, according to new research released by the Council on Contemporary Families, those findings may not be accurate.

Lower-income marriages divorce at higher rate, and it’s all men’s fault, author says

Published on: April 30, 2015 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Charlotte Divorce Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question ” If I remarry, can they look at my new spouse’s income?”

The single greatest source of tension for married couples is money, and the more scarce money is, the more likely a couple is to divorce.

Law firm creates graphic summary of divorce statistics, odds

Published on: April 14, 2015 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Charlotte Divorce Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “My wife and I are not getting along If I leave the house, can she get me for abandonment?”

A Seattle law firm has analyzed divorce statistics to help couples determine whether their marriages are likely to end in divorce.

Married women who become seriously ill are six-percent more likely to divorce

Published on: March 3, 2015 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Charlotte Divorce Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question ” I’m considering separating from my spouse; what actions should I refrain from doing?”

Until death do us part, in sickness and in health? As for sickness, not so much.

That is, at least, according to a new study spearheaded by Amelia Karraker, an assistant professor of human development and family studies at Iowa State University.

Her study—published in the most recent issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior—shows that married women who are diagnosed with a serious health condition are at greater odds of being divorced by or from their spouses than healthy married women.

Karraker and colleague Kenzie Latham studied marriage data from 1992 to 2010 compiled by the Health and Retirement Study at the University of Michigan. They looked at rates of cancer, heart disease, lung disease and stroke among married women during that timeframe.

Doctor divorce rates surprisingly low, but women doctors get raw deal, researchers say

Published on: February 24, 2015 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Charlotte Divorce Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question ” I’m considering separating from my spouse; what actions should I refrain from doing?”

What stands to reason does not always stand up to reality, and a new study from a team led by a doctor at Harvard Medical School is driving that point home.

Doctor Anupam Jena of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School led a team that analyzed American Community Survey responses from 250,000 physicians, dentists, pharmacists and health-care executives, according to the Washington Post. The researchers also studied survey answers from 59,000 lawyers and 6.3 million non-health-care professionals. The study results were published last week in a journal titled The BMJ.

Dr. Jena said that going into the study, he encountered “this conception or notion that doctors are more likely to be divorced, not only more than other health-care professionals, but the population at large.” This conception or notion, the Post suggested, dovetailed with the perception that doctors work long hours, have demanding schedules, and operate in high-stress day-to-day work environments.

Those conditions sound like a recipe for high divorce rates.

Census plan to eliminate survey questions may leave marriage, divorce in statistical void

Published on: December 25, 2014 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Charlotte Divorce Attorney Matthew R. Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question “What does a “No-Fault’ divorce mean in NC?”

About one-half of American marriages end in divorce.

Marriage counselors have been preaching that prevailing wisdom to couples for decades. People who have been through a messy divorce may point to the statistic with a disillusioned “I told you so” attitude. Divorce attorneys and other professionals who often deal with the most contentious divorces may feel even more disillusionment.

Researchers, however, can put their feelings aside and study the raw data. As consumers, as human beings and as professionals working in family law matters, we rely on the data and upon the work of researchers studying the data for a portrait of what marriage and divorce look like in the United States.

For a variety of reasons, our ability to rely on accurate data may be disappearing.

For years, researchers in the family-law field have relied on statistics compiled by the United States Government in its American Community Survey. It is the ground zero, so to speak, for researchers interested in marriage and divorce trends across different age groups, ethnicities and cultures within the United States.

Most marriages are happy and divorce rate is closer to 20 percent, says author

Published on: August 19, 2014 | On behalf of Arnold & Smith, PLLC

Board Certified Family Law Specialist Matt Arnold of Arnold & Smith, PLLC answers the question ” I’m not getting along with my husband. We’ve been married two weeks and it was a mistake. Can’t I just get an annulment?”

Sometimes what “they” say is not good enough because “they”—whoever “they” are–don’t have the facts. One thing “they” have always said about divorce in the United States is that Christians are just as likely to divorce as unbelievers.

“They” were wrong.

Harvard-trained researcher and author Shaunti Feldhahn has released a book in which she debunks some commonly held myths about divorce and divorce rates in the United States. The book is titled The Good News About Marriage: Debunking Discouraging Myths about Marriage and Divorce.

Feldhahn got the idea to write the book eight years ago when she asked her assistant to locate some reliable divorce statistics for an article she was writing. After searching, both Feldhahn and her assistant concluded that there weren’t “any real numbers.” They spent the next several years digging through “[t]remendously complicated, sometimes contradictory research to find the truth.”