Indiana Family Lawyer Blog
There is a lot of media attention around Eva Mendes right now for her comments in an interview with Extra regarding sweatpants and their toxicity to marriages:
“No, no, no, no! You can’t do sweatpants. No,” she said. “Ladies, No. 1 cause of divorce in America? Sweatpants. No. Can’t do that.”
While many were quick to dismiss these comments, it does draw attention to the real causes of divorce. Just under fifty percent of all marriages in the United States end in divorce. So what really causes divorce in the United States and why?
According to a survey done by the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts, 43% of divorces are the result of incompatibility, 28% are due to infidelity, and 22% are due to financial stress. The other ten percent was attributed to “emotional and/or physical abuse”, “parenting issues/arguments”, and “addiction and/or alcoholism issues”.
Additionally, one CDFA (Certified Divorce Financial Analyst) stated that basic incompatibility is actually a broad reason that usually encompasses some of the other causes mentioned above.
In a recent Huffington Post article, “Divorce Causes: 5 Marriage Mistakes That Lead to Divorce”, one hundred couples answered this question: What would be a deal-breaker in your marriage?
Their responses included cheating, dishonesty, addictions, abuse, and major changes in priorities (which upon reading the description looks very similar to “incompatibility”). Read more by clicking here.
While incompatibility and infidelity are well-known as deal-breakers in a marriage, some may find financial stress puzzling as a cause of divorce. Some may be asking, “How is it possible that financial stress overshadows the percentage of marriages ending due to abuse or parenting issues?” However, there are studies that support the high percentage of marriages ending in divorce as a result of financial issues.
According to a 2009 study by Jeffrey Dew at Utah State University, couples who disagree about finances once a week are over 30 percent more likely to get divorced than couples that report disagreeing about finances a few times a month.
Regardless of the reason, it is obvious that divorce rates are on the rise. The reasons may change over the years but one thing will invariably remain: people won’t get divorces because of sweatpants.
Let us know what you think and tweet @HARDENJACKSON.
The attorneys of Harden Jackson Law are devoted to servicing clients throughout the Indianapolis area and the state of Indiana in all areas family law, including divorce, custody, child support, property division, paternity, post-divorce modifications, prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, simple wills, adoption, surrogacy and other areas of assisted reproductive technology law. For more information, please contact us at 317.569.0770 or www.hardenjacksonlaw.com.
Remember, these blog posts are not meant to be legal advice. You should consult a family law attorney to discuss the specifics of your situation.
Photo credit: sweatpant fashion+striped shirt+blazer+wedges+window+ferragamo bag+buildings via photopin (license)