Law Blog

Groucho Marx once said that “Marriage is the chief cause of divorce.”  Finding the lighter side of such an emotionally exhausting proceeding is always a good approach.  In America, divorce used to be very difficult to get absent a good reason such as adultery, abuse, or abandonment.  The availability of divorce has changed dramatically.

Today, divorces are granted on request of one party with or without fault (in almost every state) or consent of the other party.  One researcher estimated that the introduction of no-fault divorce laws accelerated divorce rates upwards of 25%.

Whatever the cause, the high divorce rate in America is unlikely to lower significantly from it’s roughly 50% rate.  Divorce is everywhere.  Celebrity and reality star divorces generate a tremendous amount of publicity and often makes those individuals much more famous than when they were married!  Divorce is one subject that celebrity and non-celebrity couples have in common- they are both on the rise.

A study conducted by LegalMatch confirmed this trend as there was a large increase in the number of divorce lawyer requests as well as divorce-related questions within the past 12 months nationwide.  Thousands of inquiries pertaining to getting a divorce and the corresponding issues dwarf the marriage-related searches.

Although this trend may not be a surprise, it should nevertheless be a concern.  Perhaps the answer is in making it a little more difficult to get a marriage.  Either way, it is always a good time to be a divorce lawyer!

It is no surprise that the economy is having a major impact on family life, and more specifically on divorce-related issues.  Child support has been one of the more unfortunate areas to feel the impact of parental job loss and changes in a parent’s financial stability.  One in four divorced Americans is supposed to receive child support payments every month, according to the U.S. Census Bureau in a study conducted in 2007.  However there is becoming an increasing discrepancy between what is supposed to happen and what is happening as it relates to child support

Within the past 12 months thousands of clients have come to LegalMatch with child support-related issues.  The top concern among the requests: increased payment, decreased payment, and issues relating to enforcement.  Hundreds of these requests specifically involved people unable to pay due to job loss or changes in financial circumstances.

Courts face a tough process when it comes to these child support modification hearings because, in most cases, the money (and the paying job) is no longer there.  In those instances, the judge is looking for a solution to a problem that will probably persist for a while.

The typical recourse for a non-paying parent is garnishment of wages or jail time.  The problem with these two options, especially in such an economically volatile time like this, is that the first is rarely an option and the latter will produce little if any payments and will likely further prolong the lack of payment problem.  These reductions in payments have forced many families to apply for welfare for the first time, risk eviction, and drastically change the circumstances relating to the family’s living situation.

A recent article about Going to Court for Child Support discussed the top 5 tips to help collect child support:

1.) Find out why the support is not being paid.

2.) Don’t delay the problem

3.) Mediate your child support

4.) Move quickly to get to a courtroom

5.) Get additional help

The one solution on either side of the divide is communication and cooperation with the system that is in place to benefit children.

Nobel Prize winning economist Gary Becker performed a now famous study on the effects of income in marriage back in 1977.  What he discovered was that any change in income, positive or negative, makes a family more susceptible to divorce.

The results of this study are still proving true over 30 years later as the current recession in the U.S. and California specifically has seen a rise in money-related divorces, and also led to an increase in problems associated with an ancillary issue to divorce- alimony.

Popular divorce site Divorce360.com recently blogged about this very alimony trend.  Because the financial situations of many California couples seeking divorce, or already divorced, has changed so drastically in the past year, there has been a huge increase in requests for alimony modification.

We’re seeing similar trends at LegalMatch.  According to statistics compiled from all people seeking alimony legal assistance in California within the last 12 months, the overwhelming majority of inquiries involved either collection of past due alimony or termination of alimony payments.

The high level of interest in these two categories is even more interesting because they are polar opposites and come from different sides of the divorce- one being the spouse looking to alimony as income and needing all back payments, and the other being the spouse looking to alimony as a financial pitfall that he or she is trying to get out of to save needed funds.

The numbers are high and the reasons aren’t surprising.  The recession is fully reflected in all aspects of California divorce proceedings and the trend will continue as long as these tough economic times persist.

Each year, thousands of clients seek divorce attorneys through LegalMatch.com. News of recent layoffs and stock portfolio value drops carries a human side, with increased tensions over money management between spouses as the result. Rising stress over unemployment, change in routine, foreclosures, spending too much or saving too little can place a significant strain on a relationship.

But even with increased martial frictions, how has this economic downturn actually affected marriages in the U.S.? Given all the speculation, it seemed fitting to see what the actual statistics would show.  From January 1 to March 31, LegalMatch client intake reports show a 7 percent increase in the rate of separation in 2009 over the same time period for 2008. This isn’t exactly an earth shattering jump, but still it is significant.

Of course, those facing harder economic times often reassess the value of their assets- and in a marriage that often means taking a good look at your combined finances. After all, divorce can be expensive, and separating from your spouse often means forgoing a second income. Some states even consider debt acquired during the marriage as community property, potentially meaning a spouse could be forced to pay the mortgage for a house in which they no longer reside. Spousal support and/or child support may be too much to pay for an individual should the marriage dissolve. The downside is that it may mean staying in a marriage that no longer works for many couples.

Right now it seems the majority of couples are choosing to weather the economic storm together, for better or worse. It will be interesting to see if this still holds true as the recession stretches on over the coming months.

One of the more curious aspects of our financial crisis is the decline in divorces as of late. Apparently the cost of divorce is making those with less think longer about cutting things short. (Thank you, thank you, I’m here every night).

Nonetheless, here at LegalMatch.com tens of thousands of people have logged on to find divorce attorneys within the past 12 months. I was curious about their demographics, and here is what the data was telling me:

• The Median Age for a person seeking a divorce in the US: 37
• Median Number of Children: 1

37 years old seems about right for a starter divorce.  Plus, the Median number of children matches US Census results; the national average for children per household in the US is 0.90.

Not much stands out here separating your average divorcé from your average U.S. citizen, which is not surprising considering almost half of all marriages end in divorce in the United States.

So now we know who is getting divorces…are they decreasing in number? Not from what I can tell.

Looking back over the 12 month period, there is no significant difference in month to month numbers, nor is there any decline in the numbers from 2008 to 2009. And again, this is tens of thousands of customers seeking divorce, not just a small sample size.

Fear not divorce attorneys! The American Divorce Industry is apparently alive and well.