According to the American Psychological Association, 40 to 50% of married couples in the United States end in divorce. The divorce rate for first marriages alone is 41% and those marriages typically last eight years.
In the 1950s, the median age for married men was 23 for men and 20 for women. In 2004, those numbers grew to 27 for men and 26 for women. Couples who dated for at least three years before their engagement were 39% less likely to get divorced than couples who dated for less than a year before tying the knot.
The reasons for divorce vary greatly, but the top five reasons are:
- Communication Problems
- Infidelity or betrayal
- Financial problems
- Abuse
- Loss of Interest
One of the biggest reasons as previously mentioned is infidelity. According to the Journal of Family Issues, infidelity is the leading cause of divorce at 21.6%. Additionally, couples therapists say that 50% of their case load is due to infidelity.
Military families aren’t immune to divorce either. An article from MarketWatch listed military jobs among the most common professions for divorce and military workers had a divorce rate of 15% by the age of 30. For those in the Navy, the divorce rate is around 12.5%.
Whatever the reason for a divorce, navigating it is a tricky situation. An amicable divorce can make things easier for both parties, but a less than amicable divorce can result in hurt feelings, resentment and messy battles in court over who gets what.
With that in mind, hiring a miltary divorce lawyer can make the process easier for those going through a military divorce. Whether you need help filing divorce papers, need a mediator or need some divorce advice, here are five reasons hiring a divorce lawyer can make the divorce process easier:
- Mediation: Many couples going through miltary divorce have lots of pent up emotions that come out in divorce proceedings. As a result, there can be a lot of name-calling back and forth and no desire to reach a resolution. Military divorce lawyers can serve as mediators and offer divorce advice to help make the process more civil.
- Custody: Custody battles can lead to a lot of messy situations and stress for both parents and their children. According to U.S. statistics, if there is a daughter and no son in a marriage, the union is 5% more likely to end. Fighting for custody of a single child does no one any favors and is likely to impact the child. Children of divorced parents are twice as likely to drop out of high school and less likely to attend college.
In 29% of custody cases, a decision was reached without a third party, but in a lot of cases having a divorce lawyer is a big help. A military divorce lawyer can help you navigate the situation and let each parent know what their rights are. - Support: A military divorce lawyer can provide plenty of legal advice, but divorce can be very trying emotionally and a divorce lawyer can ultimately be someone to talk to. Divorce lawyers can be a vessel through which someone going through divorce can vent, express concerns and come to terms with the changes going on in their life.
- Rights: A military divorce attorney is well-versed in divorce law and knows what each party is entitled to in a divorce. As such, military divorce attorneys can offer plenty of divorce advice when it comes to an individual’s rights. Knowing your rights is important and a good divorce lawyer will be able to come up with a resolution that’s agreeable and fair to both parties.
- Fair and Fast Procedure: Going through a long, painful divorce can take its toll emotionally and monetarily. The average length of divorce proceedings in the United States is one year. A divorce lawyer can help speed up the process of filing divorce papers, help reach an agreeable settlement and can help divide property and assets.
A good military divorce lawyer can help ease the stress of military divorce by being an effective mediator, negotiator and be a source of divorce advise and support for all parties involved. Whatever your concerns are, take time to find the right lawyer for your situation.