Texas Divorce and Prenuptial Agreement BLOG

On Monday we mentioned the recent, first ever American divorce expo, “Start Over Smart,” that took place in New York City. The goal of its organizers was to bring together experts and resources for those undergoing a divorce so that attendees could gather helpful information in one place and meet others going through the same thing. Divorce remains too much of a private matter, the organizers fear, making it difficult and painful for people undergoing a divorce to obtain support and correct information. The types of expert advice available at the expo provide a good idea of the sorts of resources that you can seek to help you through the divorce. Whether your fears concern finances, legal ramifications, or something else, help is available. Legal advice An attorney is often the first person to whom someone turns when undergoing a divorce and for good reason. Attorneys file the paperwork and employ the services of other experts to ensure that your divorce adheres to the law. An attorney will help you understand filing requirements (divorce laws vary by state), child custody issues, prenuptial agreement interpretations, financial settlement options, and child or spousal support concerns. Often attorneys will work with accountants and…
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As anyone who has married knows, weddings generate a lot of business. Wedding expos, receptions, tuxedos, dresses, presents, wedding shows, and honeymoons are just a handful of the things that a wedding generates, and these figures total in the hundreds of billions of dollars each year in the United States. Divorce has received a lot less attention, but the first divorce expo in the US last week aimed to change that. The expo sought to bring divorce issues to the forefront. Even though attitudes towards divorce have lightened since the 1950s and 1960s, divorce very much remains an individual, somewhat taboo topic for many people. It is hard to ignore the demographics behind divorce, though. After peaking in the 1970s and 1980s, the divorce rate in the US has fallen, but remains around 50 percent of all first time marriages. Over one million divorces occur each year in the country, which translates into tens of millions of Americans having divorced at least once. This is too large of a number for divorce to remain a taboo topic, prompting the expo organizers to stage their first even in the US. The “Start Over Smart” expo took place over two days in…
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Which month qualifies as “the divorce month” during which the most divorces occur? Some have argued January, others February, but the latest reports are that the most divorce activity happens in March. Data from the past several years show that, after a dropping off in divorce activity during the holidays, divorces spike up in January, continue to grow in February, and then reach their peak in March. Consumer legal website Findlaw.com found a similar trend amongst people doing web searches for divorce-related things. March had the most such hits. What are the possible reasons for this trend? The drop off in divorces during the fall and through December is likely due to the holidays. Couples are more likely to try to work things out near the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Additionally, with all the time being spent around family, friends and co-workers this time of the year, people may be more hesitant to divorce out of fear of having to discuss the divorce at every holiday gathering they attend. But the new year always brings changes, and it is at this point that couples considering divorce start taking concrete steps towards a divorce filing. Couples spend the first few weeks…
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The conventional wisdom has been that living together before marriage was more likely to lead to divorce if the couple should end up marrying. Even for today’s generation, which has been more reluctant to marry, many assumed that cohabitation was likely lead to divorce down the line. New research from a study involving 22,000 people shows that this may no longer be the case. Both sides, though, may be correct. Back in the 1960s, few couples moved in together before marrying (only about 10 percent), and they did in fact end up with higher divorce rates. As times have changed, however, more and more couples cohabitate (the number is substantially higher at 60 percent). Today, cohabitation is less likely to lead to divorce, but that depends on the status of the couple living together. Researchers in the study found that couples who were engaged and living together were just as likely to have marriages that lasted at least 15 years as couples who had never lived together. 60 percent of marriages lasted at least 15 years when the couple had never lived together or only lived together while they were engaged. The numbers were lower for couples who lived together…
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