Curious about what kind of statistics there are about divorce? Here?s all you ever wanted to know about it!
- February is When Most Divorces Happen: It?s hard to say why. Perhaps it?s the pressure of Valentine?s Day. Maybe it?s the arguments that took place over Christmas. For whatever reason, February is when the most people are filing divorce papers.
- Dividing Chores Matters: At Least for Norwegians: The Norwegians did a study in 2012. They found that married couples who divided the household chores were twice as likely to divorce as homes where the wife did it all. It?s hard to say exactly why that might be, and it may not apply to all cultures.
- A Bunch of Stuff Slightly Increases Your Chances of Getting a Divorce: If you?re a woman, the European Economic Review says that for every 12 extra minutes you spend at work each week, you become 1% more likely to separate, whether in an uncontested divorce or a hotly contested one. Also, if a marriage results in a daughter but no son, it?s 5% more likely that the couple will separate.
- Other Stuff Greatly Increases Your Chances of Getting a Divorce: If only one person in a marriage smokes, it?s 75% more likely that the marriage will end. If the marriage is your third, there?s a 73% chance you?ll divorce. Whether contested or uncontested divorce is the result, infidelity is also a serious marriage killer. It?s also a literal killer, as it?s associated with a higher risk of having a fatal heart attack.
- It?s the Children Who Suffer Most: This is probably not a surprise, but children who have divorced parents are less likely to attend college than children from unbroken homes, and twice as likely to drop out of high school early.
- Geography Matters, Too: If you have questions to ask a divorce lawyer or are preparing for an uncontested divorce, you?ll likely find the most help in the Western states, which have the highest rates of both divorce and marriage. The Northeast has the lowest.
- The Law of Averages: The mean age at which a woman in America wants to know how to find a divorce lawyer is 29. For men looking to file their first uncontested divorce, or contested one, the mean age is 30.5. But if you marry older, have a lot of education, or are earning a lot of money, your chances of getting a divorce are lower than that of the rest of the population.
Statistics aside, the divorce process can be difficult and heartbreaking. We all want to do everything we can to avoid a divorce; but sometimes that just isn?t possible. When it?s not, finding a good family lawyer is one of the keys to making the situation go as smoothly as possible under the circumstances.
