Updated on August 16, 2024
Divorce is a complex legal matter that signals the end of a relationship that the couple intended to last. The old adage that half of all marriages end in divorce is more of a saying than a statistic that’s based on fact, and in the end, it’s much more complicated than that.
Better understanding divorce statistics and trends in this country can give you greater insight into your own divorce. If you are facing a divorce, it’s always in your best interest to consult with an experienced Killeen divorce attorney.
National and State Divorce Rates
According to the World Population Review, all the following telling statistics apply to marriages in the United States:
Between 35 and 50 percent of all first marriages end in divorce.
This percentage rises to 60 percent for second marriages.
For third marriages and beyond, the divorce percentage rate soars to 70 and above.
Overall, the divorce rate in the country, especially in Texas, is “continuing in a longstanding downward trend.” Marriage rates have also decreased over time.
The CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics reports the following marriage and divorce statistics for 2022:
There were 2,065,905 marriages, which is a marriage rate of 6.2 per 1,000 total population.
There were 673,989 divorces, which is a divorce rate of 2.4 per 1,000 total population.
CDC shares that, in 2022, marriage rates returned to pre-pandemic rates in the United States.
This year, Texas managed to land itself on the list of 10 states with the lowest divorce rates in the nation, coming in third with 1.4 percent per 1,000 female residents who are at least 15 years old. Over the past three years, Texas’s divorce rate dropped by more than half a percentage.
Nevada, which ranks the highest for divorce among all the states, comes in a full three times higher with 4.2 percent.
It’s worth noting that Nevada is considered “uniquely accommodating” to marriage in the first place – with a marriage rate that is more than double any other state’s. It’s also possible to obtain a divorce in Nevada in as few as 10 days – while you’ll need to wait at least 60 days to obtain a divorce in Texas.
A Brief History of Divorce Rates in the United States
Divorce rates in this country stood at 22.6 per 1,000 married women in 1979 – according to a study out of Bowling Green State University, and the general trend since then has been downward.
During the pandemic – in 2020 and 2021 – divorce rates reached a record-breaking 40-year low. However, this steep drop balanced out to that steady decline we have seen over the last four decades – once court dockets opened back up, couples could move forward with their filings.
The U.S. Census Shows Declining Marriage Rates
The U.S. Census finds that up to 56 percent of young adults – or those between the ages of 18 and 24 are living with their parents – rather than marrying young. Further, up to 16 percent of adults between the ages of 25 and 34 are remaining in their childhood homes in response to some of the following factors:
To help their aging parents
To address financial concerns
To continue their educations and advance their careers
The Pew Research Center adds that more and more couples who share children are choosing to live together rather than marry.
Common Divorce Patterns
While every divorce is unique, some common divorce trends and statistics have emerged over the years. Your seasoned Killeen divorce lawyer can help you understand these patterns and how they may affect your divorce.
Women Tend to Initiate Divorce
It is interesting to note the American Sociological Society Association’s finding that women initiate divorce 69 percent of the time – based on a 7-year study that included more than 2,200 adults from the ages of 19 to 94. Further, the study reports that women have had a primary role in initiating divorces in this country as far back as the data goes, which is the 1940s.
While many postulate that this finding means women are more attuned to relationship problems, this is not supported by the fact that women are not more likely than men to initiate breakups when they are in non-married heterosexual couples.
Average Age for Divorce
Divorce statistics are notoriously difficult to pin down because there are so many variables involved. However, age is a factor that plays a definite role.
The average age for couples going through a first divorce is 30 years. Those couples who marry between the ages of 20 and 25 have a 60 percent likelihood of divorcing, while those who wait until they’re at least 26 are significantly less likely to divorce.
Most Common Reasons for Divorce
Every divorce is unique to the couple involved, and every divorcing couple has their own unique reason for divorce. Most primary reasons, though, fall into the following categories:
Lack of commitment
Lack of intimacy
Basic incompatibility
Financial issues
Substance abuse
The World Population Review shares the U.S. Census Bureau’s finding of the top three reasons for divorce:
Incompatibility at 43 percent
Infidelity at 28 percent
Money issues at 22 percent
Money Is a Primary Cause of Divorce
As mentioned, money is a primary cause of divorce, and divorce itself is costly, which helps to turn up the emotional heat in a lot of divorce cases. Money problems come in many different forms, and they can all chip away at a marriage. Consider these common examples of money problems that can lead to divorce:
When one spouse is the primary breadwinner, he or she can feel overworked and overwhelmed and can perceive the other spouse as lazy.
When spouses don’t share similar financial goals, it can lead to competing financial interests.
As the cost of living and inflation continue to rise, many families are feeling the financial pinch, which is stressful in and of itself.
When one spouse enjoys spending lavishly while the other takes a longer view that focuses on saving, it can be difficult to bridge the gap.
Married couples are a team, and when a team doesn’t share the same goals or the same approach to achieving those goals, things can quickly fall apart.
Commitment
Marriage is nothing if not a commitment, so it may come as no surprise that one of the most common reasons voiced for a divorce is a lack of commitment. Often, each spouse points to the other as not having fully committed to the relationship.
While many people think of extramarital affairs when it comes to a lack of commitment, this category is actually much broader, including relationship issues such as lack of communication or lack of a firm commitment to shared financial goals.
Ultimately, every marriage that ends does so for a variety of personal reasons that are unique to the family involved, which makes categorizing the reasons for divorce as challenging as pinning down the divorce rate.
Most Common Month to File for Divorce
Couples are most likely to file for divorce in January, and this is true in Texas as well as every other state in the nation. In fact, January has earned the title of “divorce month.”
Attorneys theorize that the trend stems from couples who are trying to make it through the holidays before dropping this kind of shakeup on their families. The idea of a fresh start in the new year may also help couples pull the trigger on divorce.
However, filing for divorce in January is not the same as divorcing in January. A fairly straightforward divorce can take up to six months, and a complicated divorce can take well over two years.
Certain Careers Are More Closely Associated with Divorce
According to Business Insider, the following occupations are more closely associated with divorce than others – ranked from highest to lowest:
Gaming and casino managers
Bartenders
Flight attendants
Gaming service workers
Mill operators
Switchboard operators
Drawing machine operators
Telemarketers
Operators of textile and weaving machines
Gray Divorce Is on the Rise
A divorce trend that continues to strengthen throughout the country is gray divorce – or divorce after many years of marriage when the spouses are generally empty-nesters and have better-established financial circumstances.
CNBC reports that gray divorce has doubled since the 1990s – and for those over the age of 60, it has tripled. This increase is all while divorce rates, in general, have slowed. In fact, in a recent year, 9 percent of everyone who divorced was at least 65 years old.
The financial strain of gray divorce is even more significant for women for several reasons:
Women from this generation are more likely to fill traditional roles, which means they may not have worked over the course of their marriages or may have given up their own careers to support their spouses’ careers.
The persistent pay gap in the U.S. ensures that women earn less – overall – than men to begin with.
Gray divorce ensures that women have less time to make up for earning discrepancies by bolstering their financial circumstances.
Average Cost of Divorce in Texas
USA TODAY shares all the following statistics about the price of a Texas Divorce:
The average cost of a Texas divorce that doesn’t involve shared children is $15,600, which puts the state in the fifth-highest spot.
The average cost of a Texas divorce with shared children is $23,500, again, in the fifth-highest spot.
The cost of filing for a divorce in Texas ranges from about $250 to $350.
While the cost of living in Texas is slightly less than the national average, the median household income is just about in the middle – ranking 24th highest. The divorced population in Texas is the 14th lowest in the nation at 10.5 percent.
Managing Costs
While divorce can be exceptionally expensive, there are steps you can take to keep your costs down:
Doing a lot of the legwork yourself, which includes gathering and compiling the necessary financial documents ahead of time
Keeping your divorce as amicable as possible, which is likely to reduce the cost and protect your children
Working closely with your seasoned divorce attorney to help keep your case moving smoothly forward
Recognizing your divorce priorities – whatever they may be – and putting your legal efforts into these priorities rather than turning every issue into a battle
Seeking an uncontested divorce, which means you and your divorcing spouse will resolve your divorce terms between yourselves and your respective divorce attorneys – rather than requiring the court’s intervention
Being willing to compromise, which can go a long way toward keeping your legal expenses manageable
Protecting Your Parental and Financial Rights
It’s important to remember that keeping your legal costs low will not do you any favors if your divorce terms suffer as a result. The idea is striking a balance.
If it’s going to take a heated battle to obtain an asset that isn’t of particular importance to you, the legal price could exceed the item’s value. On the other hand, if your goal is staying in the family home as your children’s primary custodial parent, the matter is very likely worth the legal muscle required.
When you work with the right divorce attorney, you have the skilled legal guidance you need to make the right decisions moving forward. Reputable divorce attorneys carefully consider their clients’ legal budgets and help them find ways to decrease costs without sacrificing their primary rights.
Additional Factors Related to Divorce
The U.S. Census Bureau also shared the following interesting information about divorce patterns in America:
Those with a higher level of total education are less likely to divorce.
Those with strong religious beliefs are less likely to divorce.
Couples who both drink heavily are less likely to divorce than couples with only one heavy drinker among them are.
Every year, divorce rates across the country spike in March and August.
You Are Not a Statistic
While having the relevant statistics about divorce can help you better navigate the path forward, it’s important to remember that you are not a statistic and that your divorce will proceed according to your circumstances.
No matter your situation, one of the most important steps anyone in your shoes can take is to consult with a practiced Killeen divorce attorney as soon as you’re able to do so.
Your Divorce
If you need a divorce, what matters most is addressing your unique concerns, protecting your parental and financial rights, and seeking terms that work for you and your children. In this pursuit, it’s always wise to work closely with an experienced Killeen divorce attorney.
Beginning the Divorce Process
Most Texas divorces begin with one spouse filing for divorce and serving the other with the divorce papers – unless you come to this decision together, which means the non-filing spouse can waive the service requirement. From here, you’ll need to resolve the terms of your divorce.
Child Custody
Your child custody arrangements will guide the schedule by which you and your ex divide your time with your shared children, making it a critical determination. In Texas, child custody is grouped into physical custody (or the parenting time schedule) and legal custody.
Physical Custody or Parenting Time
Physical custody sets your parenting time schedule, and Texas courts always make these determinations in light of the children’s best interests. Toward this end, the court takes the following factors and others into account:
Each parent’s preferences
Each child’s reasonable preferences – as deemed appropriate
How involved each parent has been in caring for the children to date
Each parent’s level of commitment in terms of continuing to support the other’s ongoing relationship with the kids
Each child’s needs, including any special needs, and each parent’s ability to meet these needs
Whether domestic violence or child abuse is a concern
Any other factors the court deems applicable
When it comes to parenting time, the basic options include one of you becoming the primary custodial parent and providing the children with their primary home or both of you dividing your overnights with the kids more equally. No matter what option you choose, remember that Texas courts are inclined to award both parents with a generous parenting time schedule.
Legal Custody
As parents, we have to make a wide range of important decisions on behalf of our children that guide their upbringing. Legal custody determines how you and your ex will address this responsibility. You have several options, including the following arrangements:
Continuing to make these decisions together the way you did while married
Continuing to make these decisions together but affording one of you the power to break a tie if you cannot reach an agreement
Splitting this responsibility between you according to the kind of decision that needs to be made
Granting one of you sole legal custody
The following list explains the kinds of decisions at stake in legal custody:
Decisions about your children’s healthcare
Decisions about your children’s extracurriculars
Decisions about your children’s religious education
The decisions that parents need to make on a moment-by-moment basis remain the responsibility of whomever the kids are with at the time. If a decision needs to be made in the face of an emergency, the available parent will be called upon to do so.
Child Support
Along with child custody, child support must be determined. The State of Texas requires parents to support their children financially, and when the parents are divorced, child support is employed to help balance this support between both parents.
Consider these primary factors that affect the determination of child support:
Each parent’s ability to earn
Each parent’s age and overall physical and mental health
Each parent’s separate assets
How many overnights the children spend with each parent
While many factors go into the calculation process, the parent who earns more typically has the child support obligation – even when the parenting time schedule is shared evenly.
The Division of Marital Property
Every divorcing couple must address the division of marital property. In Texas, the assets that you come to own while you are married are considered marital, and this is true regardless of who made the purchase or who signed for it. The only exceptions are gifts and inheritances that either of you receives in your name alone.
These marital assets – or their overall value – must be divided between you and your divorcing spouse in a manner that is deemed fair given the relevant circumstances, which include factors like the following:
The contributions each of you made to the marital estate, including contributions in the form of taking care of the home and the children
Each spouse’s separate assets
Wrongdoing that the court considers relevant
Each spouse’s earning power and current income
Anything else the court finds applicable
While separate assets will remain the separate property of the spouse to whom they belong, it’s important to note both the following considerations:
For an asset to be considered separate, the spouse to whom the asset belongs must keep it separate throughout the marriage, which can prove challenging.
Any increase in the value of the separate asset will be considered marital and will need to be addressed as such. Common examples include retirement accounts and other financial tools.
Alimony
Alimony only factors into those divorces in which there is a considerable discrepancy between the divorcing spouses’ financial circumstances.
For example, if one spouse is not able to continue supporting himself or herself at the same standard of living – or near the same standard of living – enjoyed while married and the other has the financial means to help, alimony may be ordered.
Generally, alimony is intended to provide the recipient with the financial assistance necessary to gain the education or job skills necessary to become more financially independent.
The Court’s Role
The court will need to sign off on the terms of your divorce even if you and your divorcing spouse are able to resolve every applicable term yourselves. This step is part of the finalization process, and the court is almost certain to rubberstamp your terms.
However, if there are any terms that have stalled your negotiations and that you are unable to resolve, you may need the court to intervene. At this point, a divorce becomes contested, and you and your divorcing spouse give up your decision-making power in the matter.
Before you get to this point, you have several options to help you resolve the remaining terms:
Continuing to negotiate between yourselves while looking to your respective divorce attorneys to help you guard your rights throughout the process
Allowing your respective divorce attorneys to negotiate on behalf of each of your rights and best interests – if your ability to communicate freely with one another has broken down to the point that open negotiations are no longer possible
Heading to mediation, where a professional mediator works in the capacity of a neutral third party to help you, your soon-to-be ex, and your respective divorce attorneys explore your best options from a fresh perspective
It’s important to recognize that, even if you go to court for your divorce, you retain the right to resolve the remaining terms until the court rules on the matter. Simply scheduling a court date can motivate some otherwise stubborn spouses to dig a bit deeper during negotiations – rather than leaving these very personal matters in the hands of the court.
How Your Attorney Can Help
Divorce tends to be a very tumultuous process. In fact, setting your divorce priorities and continuing to focus on them can be exceptionally difficult. Your trusted Killeen divorce attorney will help in all the following important ways:
Succinctly establishing what your marital assets are and drawing a firm line regarding your separate assets
Skillfully advocating for your parental rights and for a parenting time schedule that honors these rights and works for you and your children
Helping you better understand the divorce process and helping you make carefully considered decisions that bolster your rights throughout
Keeping your divorce moving forward smoothly
Skillfully negotiating with your spouse’s divorce attorney for fair terms that you and your spouse can both live with
An Experienced Killeen Divorce Attorney Is on Your Side
Brett Pritchard at the Law Office of Brett H. Pritchard in Killeen, Texas, takes great pride in his impressive track record of guiding challenging cases like yours toward optimal outcomes, and he is here for you, too. Learn more by contacting us online or calling us at 254-781-4222 today.