All Divorce Articles

WASHINGTON -- The institution of marriage in the United States has steadily declined in strength over the past four decades, according to a report released last month by a panel of scholars and advocates. The U.S. Marriage Index, the brainchild of David Blankenhorn, president of the Institute for American Values, seeks to quantify the health of marriage in the United States in the same way Read more...

When you're 40, chances are you're not the same person you were at 20, and your estate plan should reflect the changes you've experienced. Here's a rundown of the estate-planning tools you should have if you're just beginning your life's journey, midway through or approaching the final leg. Young, single and carefree "When you're a child, your parents can make financial and medical Read more...

Divorce could give you more than a broken heart -- it could also give you a heart attack. The finding emerges in one of a number of pieces of research which remind us that emotional and mental states can have a dramatic effect on health. The study suggests that the effects of divorce on physical health are significant, negative and long lasting. Another study found that the pain Read more...

When California became the first state in the nation to legally adopt "no-fault" divorce in 1969, it accomplished by legislative fiat what no unhappy couple ever had -- making divorce completely blameless. Few of life's contractual arrangements seem better suited to the assignment of fault than divorce -- the dissolution of a legal contract to which both parties pledged to remain Read more...

ISLAMORADA, Fla. -- It's easy to see why bookkeeper Linda Mortimer moved to the Florida Keys 20 years ago: the impossibly blue water, the year-round sunshine, a lifestyle so laid-back that every day is like a Jimmy Buffett lyric. What Mortimer didn't anticipate was falling in love -- and then getting divorced less than two years after taking her wedding vows. "I discovered after we Read more...

A woman goes to a bank and meets with a loan officer. "I want a loan," she tells him. "I'm going to divorce my husband." "Oh, we don't give loans for divorces," says the loan officer. "We do make loans for automobiles, businesses, home improvements ..." The woman interrupts. "Well, getting rid of him would certainly be a home Read more...

Women tend to bear the brunt, both financially and emotionally, for divorce, death of spouse, serious illness or disability, a U.S. survey indicates. A nationwide survey by AARP Financial Inc. indicates 65 percent of women age 40-79 surveyed had already experienced a major life crisis. "No one escapes the financial implications of a life crisis, but they are particularly acute Read more...

Breaking up is hard to do, but during a recession, it's even tougher. Throughout Central Florida, couples who want to split up are handicapped: by the high cost of attorneys' fees, because they can't sell their homes or can't afford to set up two households. So some of them are stuck living together -- miserably. "Some are agreeing to be roommates and stay at separate ends of the Read more...

So the story of your marriage ended less like a romantic comedy and more like a Shakespearean tragedy. You may feel like crawling into bed with Ben & Jerry's, but rather than giving into temptation, focus on the future. "Think of the time and energy expended on your former partnership and the divorce proceedings as a tangible asset," says Ellen Sabin, former executive director of Read more...

Stress associated with marital separation may compromise an individual's immune system and lead to a greater susceptibility to cancer, U.S. researchers say. Gwen Sprehn of the Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis analyzed data from the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database, a population-based U.S. cancer registry. The researchers assessed the 5- and 10-year Read more...

A man and a woman were just divorced, on their way out of the courthouse they are both killed by a runaway bus. In heaven, they have 2nd thoughts about their divorce so they go to St. Peter and ask to be remarried. St. Peter said 'come back in 15 years!' 15 years later they're back and a minister remarries them. Soon after they start fighting again, and want to split up. So they go back to Read more...

You probably have heard that the parents in the reality series "Jon & Kate Plus 8" have decided to divorce. In a recent People magazine interview, Kate Gosselin described the reaction that her twin girls, both 8 years old, had when they were told about the divorce. She explained how both girls reacted differently to the news, with one calmly replying that she knew it was going Read more...

Has the Barbie craze gone off the deep end? Consider the man buying a gift for his daughter's birthday. He was driving home from work when he suddenly realized he hadn't yet bought the gift. Entering the nearest toy store, he asked the clerk: "How much is that Barbie in the window?" The sales clerk replied in a condescending tone, "Which Barbie? We have Barbie Goes to the Read more...

Can't stand your boring husband? Thinking of calling it quits? Well, you should have mustered the nerve to leave him well before this economic crisis. Now you might not be able to afford to live without him, literally. It's a well-known fact that financial woes are the biggest cause of marital spats. With the economy the way it is, you'd expect many husbands and wives to be at each other's Read more...

Divorce and widowhood have a lingering, detrimental impact on health -- even among those who remarry, U.S. researchers found. Researchers at the University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University said the study involved 8,652 people ages 51-61. University of Chicago sociologist Linda Waite said based on genetics and other factors, people enter adulthood with a particular "stock" Read more...

CANBERRA, Australia -- Opposites attract or so the saying goes. But a new study suggests this may not be the key to a long-lasting marriage. Academics from the Australian National University tracked the relationships and characteristics of nearly 2,500 couples between 2001 and 2007. They found the factors that increased the likelihood of marriage breakdown included differences in age, Read more...

A woman sees a lawyer about a divorce. He asks, Any grounds? Woman: yeah, about 2 acres. Lawyer: Do you have a grudge? Woman: No, we have a car port. Lawyer: Does your husband beat you up in the morning? Woman: No,I get up before him. Agitated lawyer: Well, do you or don't you want a divorce? Woman: No, my husband wants it ... he says he can't Read more...

The demographers of the world have established the following: Americans get married more often than our counterparts in other wealthy nations, we get divorced more often, and when we're living with someone and the relationship goes south, we're quicker than most to hit the escape hatch. But, why? That's the question that has consumed Andrew Cherlin, a Johns Hopkins University sociologist, Read more...

Teens tend to fare better when they live with both biological parents, but when parents frequently argue, young adults can fail to thrive, U.S. researchers say. Lead author Kelly Musick of Cornell University says when their parents argue, teens are significantly more likely than other teens to binge drink and tend to smoke, and their poor school grades are similar to those of their peers who Read more...

A new survey by eHarmony, conducted by Opinion Research Corp., finds that roughly half of single parents believe they (51 percent) and their kids (47 percent) are better off emotionally when the parent is in a committed relationship. Yet, more than two in five parents who acknowledge the emotional benefits of being in a relationship are not even dating. "Single parents often get caught Read more...