Guess what?
Divorce rates are generally falling, not rising. As a matter of fact, the whole idea that your marriage only had a 50/50 shot of survival was a little overblown from the start.
While it is true that divorce rates hit an all-time high of about 40 percent back in 1980, somehow the idea arose that one out every two marriages was ending in divorce. That “well-known” statistic has been repeated so often it’s made people hesitant to even try marriage.
It’s time to revise your thinking about marriage — if you’ve bought into the negative image of marriage, let that go. While there are a lot of statistics to sort through, the end result is this — if you got married in the 1990s or later, you stand a two-thirds shot of never being divorced.
There’s even better news for same-sex couples, as their divorce rate is about half that of their heterosexual counterparts, according to a study that covered same-sex unions in several states.
Researchers say that the disparity makes a lot of sense when viewed in the context of the times, as many same-sex couples had been waiting for years to make their unions legal. Thus, they’ve had plenty of time to back out before tying the knot.
If that urban fiction about divorce being a 50/50 shot after marriage has affected your view of the value of matrimony, could it be time to change course?
If you still hold some deep-seated worries about what would happen in a divorce to your property or some other issue (like custody, should you decide to have children), those issues can be addressed in a prenup.
While prenuptial agreements aren’t typically viewed as romantic, they are surprisingly reassuring. A properly-drafted prenup can protect your business interests and property indefinitely, or even have a “fall-off” date (say, after the marriage lasts 10 years).
Take some advice from a divorce lawyer — planning for a good divorce is often the way to avoid one in the first place. It also takes a lot of stress off the marriage and can allow it to thrive. For more information about prenuptial agreements, property division or other issues related to marriage and divorce, talk to an attorney today.
Source: Refinery 29, “Here’s What The Divorce Rate Actually Means,” Sarah Jacoby, accessed Nov. 10, 2017