Concerns to Address With a Divorce Attorney

In 1967, two psychiatrists did a survey to see which events Americans found the most stressful. The survey looked at how to see if there was a link between stressful events and illness. There findings showed that Americans considered divorce to be the number two most stressful event, only behind the death of a spouse.

Divorce is stressful for both men and women. According to some researchers, men are eight times more likely to die by suicide after a divorce, and their chances of suffering from depression and heart attacks also increase dramatically. The statistics surrounding divorce may be surprising to some. They include:

• First marriages that end in divorce have a lifespan of eight years.
• After a divorce, women take 3.1 years to remarry, while men take 3.3 years.
• Dancers and choreographers have the highest rate of divorce (43%), while bartenders have the second highest (38%).

And in the U.S., two-thirds of divorce cases are filed by women.

The legal questions about divorce can range from concerns about property to custodial rights, whereas lawyers are traditionally looked to answer those questions, as they can pertain to the local statutes and laws of the state the individual is filing in.

It’s important to see a qualified individual for legal questions about divorce, as they can include questions relating to parental rights law, parental rights for unmarried couples, and child custody advice.

One of the more difficult aspects of a divorce involves child custody arrangements. Some say that court-prescribed counseling or parenting plans can be rigid and impersonal. This is difficult news for parents who have custodial plans.

According to the Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support, the U.S. Census Bureau in 2011 released a report stating that about half of the 14.4 million custodial parents had some legal and informal child arrangement agreement in place.

Those that believe court-prescribed counseling or parenting plans are rigid and often impersonal say that a collaborative approach between parents allows those involved to arrive to more creative and even unorthodox approaches to solving problems.

Part of the issue in some cases may be child support payments, which in many cases are past due or never paid. Even when child support is paid on time, the arrangement can provoke possible resentment between the person paying and the person receiving, causing conflicts in other areas, including child custody arrangements.

In 2011, nearly $38 billion of child support was owed. This averaged out to around $6000 per year. However, only 62% of child support owed overall was ever received. This drove the average down to around $3700, which amounts to only $311 per month.

If you have legal questions about divorce, a family attorney or parental rights lawyer can help guide you through the process and address any concerns you may have. Finding an affordable divorce attorney to represent you may take time but having a list of questions to ask a divorce attorney is an important start.