Divorce Rate Falling?
My colleagues at Fox Rothschild recently posted an interesting article to their Pennsylvania Family Law Blog which takes an interesting look at the reports that the divorce rate is falling.
Of particular interest to Alabama families is the speculation that one of the primary reasons the divorce rate is declining is that many more people are choosing to live together without getting married. I have noticed that trend in my practice.
However, the scary thing about that trend in Alabama, is that we are among the few states who still recognize common law marriage. That means that couples may be intending to cohabitate without marriage, but if they meet the (sometimes nebulous) tests for a common law marriage then those couples will still need to go through the divorce process to legally conclude their relationship.
Here is the Fox Rothschild post:
Divorce rates hit an all time high in 1981. According to a recent article on the CNN website, rates are continuing to drop. But there are differences in opinion as to what really is going on in American families.Posted In Common Law Marriage , DivorceSeveral theories exist:
* Divorce rates are down because less people get married. Rather, they live together. In fact, the number of couples living together has increased by a factor of 10 since 1960.
* Divorce rates are falling in couples who are college educated. The rationale being that in such families both parties may work, reducing financial stress, and allowing the couples to remain married.
* In some areas, the stigma of being divorced has increased. Couples in these areas may be working harder to stay married.One thing to think about is that it doesn't matter to the children whether their parents are married or just live together when they split. Either way, the children suffer the loss of their family.
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