Unfortunately, divorce is very common no matter where you go here in the United States. From that of the uncontested divorce to divorces in which the custody of children must be decided, no divorce is created equal and all are difficult and emotionally draining processes. By the time that a divorce is finished, it is likely that an entire year – if not even longer – has already elapsed. There are often many things that point towards an increased likelihood of a marriage ending in divorce, but there is no saying for sure what risk factors will directly cause one and which ones will not. For example, living together before getting married does not make a couple more likely or less likely to seek a divorce in the future, something that has been a sometimes hot topic of debate for many people living here in the United States.
However, there are some things that have been identified as risk factors for a future divorce, be it an uncontested divorce or not. For instance, smoking is a risk factor for getting divorced, though this only holds true if only one person in the marriage smokes. If both smoke or if neither smoke, it is not considered to be a risk factor. However, if only one partner in the marriage smokes, the likelihood of divorce increases by as much as seventy five percent, a truly astronomical amount. Women who work longer – even just an extra twelve or so minutes per week – find themselves with an increased risk of divorce as well, though the risk is increased by only around one percent. Dividing chores has also been shown to double your chance of divorce, though, of course this will not hold true for each and every household.
But no matter what the cause of your divorce, be it an uncontested divorce or not, divorce rates are higher here in the United States than ever before. For couples who are both over the age of fifty, divorce rates have as much as doubled in only the last two decades, the last twenty years of so. For men and women alike, it has even become common to get a divorce (your first divorce, that is) by the time that you reach the age of thirty. And for each successive marriage following your first, your risk of getting a divorce increases exponentially. Even in an uncontested divorce, the divorce rates for first marriages themselves are high, above forty percent. For second marriages, the divorce rate skyrockets to sixty percent. By the time that you’re on your third marriage, you have more than a seventy percent chance that the marriage will ultimately end in divorce, even if it is an uncontested divorce.
If you have had children, it is far less likely that you will have an uncontested divorce, as children often complicate matters. Matters of child custody can often be very difficult to concretely solve and come to a resolution on, and many families trying to decide such matters will need the help of an experienced divorce lawyer. A divorce attorney or even family divorce lawyers can help you to go through the process of a custody evaluation. This process can be long and difficult, but if a couple cannot decide for themselves what a custody arrangement should be, a divorce attorney will need to step in and help them make their final decisions. Always, however, the welfare of the children involved should be considered first and foremost and above everything else. In an uncontested divorce, this often becomes easier but in a divorce that has in fact been contested, deciding child custody agreements can just add another complicated layer.
For the divorcing couple and their children alike, the consequences of divorce can be serious. Children who have divorced parents become twice as likely to not finish high school, dropping out before they make it to their graduation day. And for men who have had a divorce, picking up unhealthy drinking habits becomes too likely for comfort. Many are left on uncomfortable financial grounds after a divorce concludes and must truly rebuild their entire lives from the ground up.
