Divorce is one of the few issues that touches the lives of an overwhelming majority of Americans, often before even reaching adulthood, if not with their own parents, then those of friends or relatives. With such widespread impact, one would expect the accuracy of the information circulating in the general public to be high, but the reality is far more mixed. Misinformation and ignorance are states that can only be rectified by knowledge, and to serve that purpose, here are 10 often unknown or misunderstood facts.
- The divorce rate in a first marriage are 41%, 60% for the second and 73% rate of divorce in the third marriage. In other words, the old idea that experience makes the second try more successful is a myth.
- In the United States, the divorce process take about one year to complete.
- Most divorces are not the horrible battles of prime time drama, but are more likely to be what is called an uncontested divorce. These are settle through private mediation and, although not necessarily amicable, they usually lack the public venom.
- Addressing another dramatic television stereotype, men are not the initiator of most divorces. In roughly 66% of divorces, the woman is the person that files divorce papers.
- The cliche about long hours and stress causing a high rate of divorce for physicians is incorrect too. As a matter of fact, the rate of divorce for physicians is lower than average.
- A career that does seem to correlate with divorce is being a Navy S.E.A.L. They have a divorce rate over 90%.
- Common reasons for divorce include poor communication, financial difficulties and infidelity.
- Contrary to popular belief, in the United States, the divorce rate has been steadily declining since the 1980’s, where it peaked at 50%.
- Couples in Republican states are 27% more likely to divorce than couples in Democratic states. The reason is not actually politics, but that couples in Republican states tend to marry younger.
- Marriage lasts longer when both partners are older, have a higher level of education and greater financial stability.
As it is easy to see from the above facts, even in the face of actual data, misinformation is easily circulated. In individual cases, best not to look to common beliefs for divorce information. Far better to instead call a divorce attorney. See more.