According to the American Psychological Association, 40 to 50 percent of married couples in the United States end in divorce. The divorce rate for first marriages alone is 41% and those marriages typically last eight years.
In the 1950s, the median age for married men was 23 for men and 20 for women. In 2004, those numbers grew to 27 for men and 26 for women. Couples who dated for at least three years before their engagement were 39% less likely to get divorced than couples who dated for less than a year before tying the knot.
The reasons for divorce vary greatly, but the top five reasons are:
- Communication Problems
- Infidelity or betrayal
- Financial problems
- Abuse
- Loss of Interest
One of the biggest reasons as previously mentioned is infidelity. According to the Journal of Family Issues, infidelity is the leading cause of divorce at 21.6%. Additionally, couples therapists say that 50% of their case load is due to infidelity.
The Journal of Family issues also found that couples divorce because of incompatibility (19.2%) and drinking or drug abuse (10.6%).
Whatever the reason for a divorce, navigating it is a tricky situation. An amicable divorce can make things easier for both parties, but a less than amicable divorce can result in hurt feelings, resentment and messy battles in court over who gets what.
With that in mind, hiring a divorce lawyer can make the process easier. Whether you need help filing divorce papers, need a mediator or need some divorce advice, here are five reasons hiring a divorce lawyer can make the divorce process easier:
- Mediation: Many couples going through divorce have lots of pent up emotions that come out in divorce proceedings. As a result, there can be a lot of name-calling back and forth and no desire to reach a resolution. Divorce lawyers can serve as mediators and offer divorce advice to help make the process more civil.
- Custody: Custody battles can lead to a lot of messy situations and stress for both parents and their children. According to U.S. statistics, if there is a daughter and no son in a marriage, the union is 5% more likely to end. Fighting for custody of a single child does no one any favors and is likely to impact the child. Children of divorced parents are twice as likely to drop out of high school and less likely to attend college.
In 29% of custody cases, a decision was reached without a third party, but in a lot of cases having a divorce lawyer is a big help. A divorce lawyer can help you navigate the situation and let each parent know what their rights are. - Support: A divorce lawyer can provide plenty of legal advice, but divorce can be very trying emotionally and a divorce lawyer can ultimately be someone to talk to. Divorce lawyers can be a vessel through which someone going through divorce can vent, express concerns and come to terms with the changes going on in their life.
- Rights: A divorce lawyer is well-versed in divorce law and knows what each party is entitled to in a divorce. As such, divorce lawyers can offer plenty of divorce advice when it comes to an individual’s rights. Knowing your rights is important and a good divorce lawyer will be able to come up with a resolution that’s agreeable and fair to both parties.
- Fair and Fast Procedure: Going through a long, painful divorce can take its toll emotionally and monetarily. The average length of divorce proceedings in the United States is one year. A divorce lawyer can help speed up the process of filing divorce papers, help reach an agreeable settlement and can help divide property and assets.
A good divorce lawyer can help ease the stress of divorce by being an effective mediator, negotiator and be a source of divorce advice and support for all parties involved. Whatever your concerns are, take time to find the right lawyer for your situation. More than 800,000 divorces happen every year and having a good lawyer to help can make a world of difference.