A recent op-ed piece in the Pikes Peak Courier presents some staggering statistics regarding the divorce rate in the United States. Among these statistics is the fact that the United States of America has the highest divorce rate in the world. Is it any wonder that whether you live in Pennsylvania, California, New York, Idaho, or Colorado, family law and divorce attorneys see big business?
The oft-thrown-about statistic that fifty percent of all marriages end in divorce should come as no surprise to anyone—it’s old news. The demographics numbers also aren’t all that shocking—those who enter marriage when they are young see a higher rate of divorce than those who wait; those who are in the upper ten percent of income see a higher rate; those who have been previously married and divorced are more likely to divorce again. There are more statistics like this available, and the Courier piece links to them.
It’s certainly an eye-opening piece whether you are a divorce attorney or a lay person, especially when you consider that there are divorcees out there who dissolved their marriage after a quarter century, after having been through Hell and back with their spouse and making it. What causes a partnership to dissolve so suddenly?
We may never know for sure—human nature is wild and varied. There are as many reasons for divorce as there are divorces. Nobody, not even the most aggressive family law attorney, would paint divorce as an ideal, and it’s good to note that there still are successful long-term marriages out there, but still, one has to wonder what exactly it is that drives the rate of divorce so high here in the U.S. Is it culturally ingrained? Is it due to our somewhat unique economic environment? Or is it just something in the air?
