If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
From the "You gotta be kidding" Department - Divorce rates drop because of cost
Put your hip-waders on.. it's deep.
---------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.catholic.org/finance/fina...y.php?id=31218 Hitched to the economy: Divorce rates drop because of cost By Marty Orgel 12/22/2008 Marke****ch (MCT) - The recession and economic turmoil is creating a new class of casualties: Married couples who can't afford to get divorced. In these tough times, many people are finding it's cheaper to stay together, even when they can't stand each other. "The reason that the economy has such an enormous impact on divorce is that most people in the middle-income brackets are getting by on whatever income they have. They're just getting by," said Bonnie Booden, a family law and divorce attorney in Phoenix. A major factor in the divorce downturn, Booden said, is that divorced couples have to establish two separate households with current funds _ a prohibitive factor when you're looking at divorce in tough economic times. Booden said one out of every two clients is seeking consultations because they can't afford to get divorced. They want to know what other options they might have. "I tell them about the process, about the cost, and what a reasonable outcome might be. And once they hear the cost, and especially how you have to duplicate two households on the same money that currently funds one household, they try to think about some other options," she said. Some clients have split up bedrooms and continue to live in the same house, she said. Some split child-care duties so they don't have to deal with each other and live that way until they can figure out what to do. "And I've had people who just throw in the towel and get divorces anyway, creating financial ruin for themselves," she said. Circuit courts across the country report downturns in the number of divorce and separation filings. Cook County's Circuit Court in Chicago saw a 5 percent decrease in filings _ about 600 cases _ in the first three quarters of 2008 compared to the same period last year. Similar drops were reported in other cities across the country. This domestic situation is also confirmed in a poll by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. The AAML surveyed its members _ all divorce lawyers _ and found that 37 percent of them have seen a decrease in the number of couples seeking a divorce, while just 19 percent saw an increase in divorce cases. Gary Nickelson, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, said people are just, "toughing it out" and putting off the decision to divorce until the economy gets better. "We're in a perfect storm as far as the divorce business is concerned," Nickelson said. "It's not a surprise to me. That's been my experience over the last 35 years. When you have an economic downturn, people are not so quick to change their situation." Some people who come to Booden's office have come from marriage counselors, she said. By the time these couples get to her, she said, they've pretty much run out of options. Typically, she said she tries to arrange a deal where both parties continue to own their house. She'll split up the equity and apply an interest rate to it to make it reasonable to the person not living in the house, and then distribute the cash when the house is sold after the kids go to college. "People have to realize the financial meltdown changed everything," she said. That sentiment is echoed by the AAML's Nickelson. "As long as stocks and financials and major assets are down, you're probably going to see a lot of people wait to file for divorce. There's a lot of fear in filing for divorce," he said. "I think that cuts across all genders, races, and all social economic ranges." |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
From the "You gotta be kidding" Department - Divorce rates drop because of cost
On Mon, 5 Jan 2009 07:15:19 +0100, "Dusty" wrote:
Put your hip-waders on.. it's deep. ---------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.catholic.org/finance/fina...y.php?id=31218 Hitched to the economy: Divorce rates drop because of cost By Marty Orgel 12/22/2008 Marke****ch (MCT) - The recession and economic turmoil is creating a new class of casualties: Married couples who can't afford to get divorced. In these tough times, many people are finding it's cheaper to stay together, even when they can't stand each other. "The reason that the economy has such an enormous impact on divorce is that most people in the middle-income brackets are getting by on whatever income they have. They're just getting by," said Bonnie Booden, a family law and divorce attorney in Phoenix. A major factor in the divorce downturn, Booden said, is that divorced couples have to establish two separate households with current funds _ a prohibitive factor when you're looking at divorce in tough economic times. Booden said one out of every two clients is seeking consultations because they can't afford to get divorced. They want to know what other options they might have. "I tell them about the process, about the cost, and what a reasonable outcome might be. And once they hear the cost, and especially how you have to duplicate two households on the same money that currently funds one household, they try to think about some other options," she said. Some clients have split up bedrooms and continue to live in the same house, she said. Some split child-care duties so they don't have to deal with each other and live that way until they can figure out what to do. "And I've had people who just throw in the towel and get divorces anyway, creating financial ruin for themselves," she said. Circuit courts across the country report downturns in the number of divorce and separation filings. Cook County's Circuit Court in Chicago saw a 5 percent decrease in filings _ about 600 cases _ in the first three quarters of 2008 compared to the same period last year. Similar drops were reported in other cities across the country. This domestic situation is also confirmed in a poll by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. The AAML surveyed its members _ all divorce lawyers _ and found that 37 percent of them have seen a decrease in the number of couples seeking a divorce, while just 19 percent saw an increase in divorce cases. Gary Nickelson, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, said people are just, "toughing it out" and putting off the decision to divorce until the economy gets better. "We're in a perfect storm as far as the divorce business is concerned," Nickelson said. "It's not a surprise to me. That's been my experience over the last 35 years. When you have an economic downturn, people are not so quick to change their situation." Some people who come to Booden's office have come from marriage counselors, she said. By the time these couples get to her, she said, they've pretty much run out of options. Typically, she said she tries to arrange a deal where both parties continue to own their house. She'll split up the equity and apply an interest rate to it to make it reasonable to the person not living in the house, and then distribute the cash when the house is sold after the kids go to college. "People have to realize the financial meltdown changed everything," she said. That sentiment is echoed by the AAML's Nickelson. "As long as stocks and financials and major assets are down, you're probably going to see a lot of people wait to file for divorce. There's a lot of fear in filing for divorce," he said. "I think that cuts across all genders, races, and all social economic ranges." Are we supposed to be skeptical about this story? I certainly am not. To me, the story has the ring of truth. As I see it, financial incentives play a major role in divorce, and this is only one more example. Another example is the effect of "child support," combined with guaranteed custody, on mothers' willingness to seek divorce. Yet one more example is the way in which women's entry into the workforce in the last 30 years has made it much easier for them to expel their husbands from the family -- something that I don't think anyone disputes. In my view, recognition of the financial factors in divorce is an essential preliminary to reversing the divorce epidemic. A parallel situation is what happened in the U.S. several years ago in regard to welfare reform. That reform depended crucially on recognizing that creation of single-parent families had been unintentionally encouraged by various forms of taxpayer support for such families. |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
From the "You gotta be kidding" Department - Divorce rates drop because of cost
"Kenneth S." wrote in message ... On Mon, 5 Jan 2009 07:15:19 +0100, "Dusty" wrote: Put your hip-waders on.. it's deep. ---------------------------------------------------------------- http://www.catholic.org/finance/fina...y.php?id=31218 Hitched to the economy: Divorce rates drop because of cost By Marty Orgel 12/22/2008 Marke****ch (MCT) - The recession and economic turmoil is creating a new class of casualties: Married couples who can't afford to get divorced. In these tough times, many people are finding it's cheaper to stay together, even when they can't stand each other. "The reason that the economy has such an enormous impact on divorce is that most people in the middle-income brackets are getting by on whatever income they have. They're just getting by," said Bonnie Booden, a family law and divorce attorney in Phoenix. A major factor in the divorce downturn, Booden said, is that divorced couples have to establish two separate households with current funds _ a prohibitive factor when you're looking at divorce in tough economic times. Booden said one out of every two clients is seeking consultations because they can't afford to get divorced. They want to know what other options they might have. "I tell them about the process, about the cost, and what a reasonable outcome might be. And once they hear the cost, and especially how you have to duplicate two households on the same money that currently funds one household, they try to think about some other options," she said. Some clients have split up bedrooms and continue to live in the same house, she said. Some split child-care duties so they don't have to deal with each other and live that way until they can figure out what to do. "And I've had people who just throw in the towel and get divorces anyway, creating financial ruin for themselves," she said. Circuit courts across the country report downturns in the number of divorce and separation filings. Cook County's Circuit Court in Chicago saw a 5 percent decrease in filings _ about 600 cases _ in the first three quarters of 2008 compared to the same period last year. Similar drops were reported in other cities across the country. This domestic situation is also confirmed in a poll by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. The AAML surveyed its members _ all divorce lawyers _ and found that 37 percent of them have seen a decrease in the number of couples seeking a divorce, while just 19 percent saw an increase in divorce cases. Gary Nickelson, president of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers, said people are just, "toughing it out" and putting off the decision to divorce until the economy gets better. "We're in a perfect storm as far as the divorce business is concerned," Nickelson said. "It's not a surprise to me. That's been my experience over the last 35 years. When you have an economic downturn, people are not so quick to change their situation." Some people who come to Booden's office have come from marriage counselors, she said. By the time these couples get to her, she said, they've pretty much run out of options. Typically, she said she tries to arrange a deal where both parties continue to own their house. She'll split up the equity and apply an interest rate to it to make it reasonable to the person not living in the house, and then distribute the cash when the house is sold after the kids go to college. "People have to realize the financial meltdown changed everything," she said. That sentiment is echoed by the AAML's Nickelson. "As long as stocks and financials and major assets are down, you're probably going to see a lot of people wait to file for divorce. There's a lot of fear in filing for divorce," he said. "I think that cuts across all genders, races, and all social economic ranges." Are we supposed to be skeptical about this story? I certainly am not. To me, the story has the ring of truth. As I see it, financial incentives play a major role in divorce, and this is only one more example. Another example is the effect of "child support," combined with guaranteed custody, on mothers' willingness to seek divorce. Yet one more example is the way in which women's entry into the workforce in the last 30 years has made it much easier for them to expel their husbands from the family -- something that I don't think anyone disputes. In my view, recognition of the financial factors in divorce is an essential preliminary to reversing the divorce epidemic. A parallel situation is what happened in the U.S. several years ago in regard to welfare reform. That reform depended crucially on recognizing that creation of single-parent families had been unintentionally encouraged by various forms of taxpayer support for such families. Correct, it's Economics 101! When you empower women to live on their own knowing there's a endless source of cash that helps pay the bills, what's to stop them from not working on their marriage? How many tough times did our parents endure, but mom didn't walk out to pursue her glamour career? |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
From the "You gotta be kidding" Department - Divorce rates drop because of cost
"DB" wrote in In my view, recognition of the financial factors in divorce is an essential preliminary to reversing the divorce epidemic. A parallel situation is what happened in the U.S. several years ago in regard to welfare reform. That reform depended crucially on recognizing that creation of single-parent families had been unintentionally encouraged by various forms of taxpayer support for such families. Correct, it's Economics 101! When you empower women to live on their own knowing there's a endless source of cash that helps pay the bills, what's to stop them from not working on their marriage? How many tough times did our parents endure, but mom didn't walk out to pursue her glamour career? BTW, this just appeared in a letter to the editor concerning free medical ca about 15 years ago I applied for some "assistance" I was working 3 part time jobs trying to get by and raise my son but it still wasn't enough. I didn't receive ANY child support, I only brought home about $800.00 a month. I was told by the social worker to quit all 3 jobs and I would be entitled to benefits. However my former roommate went down there and she applied. She had an hispanic last name, worked FULL TIME for the school district, received almost $2,000 a month in child support (paid directly to her from her baby's daddy) and I'll be darned if she didn't receive EVERYTHING (food stamps, medical & cash aid) and they didn't tell her to quit her job and she got to keep the child support as well!! |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
"Juro" is a newer series that resembles the "Museum," but features asmaller face and more subtle diamond inlays. The men's "Esperanza" model isthe most complex luxury model with the three minute, second andtenth-of-a-sec | wholesale2 | Spanking | 0 | April 26th 08 11:52 AM |
The "Cost of Smoking" Financial Calculator | CBN | Kids Health | 1 | March 31st 08 02:23 PM |
Former resident sues county, Department of Social Services: claimsthat "government officials" knew the allegations were false, but still begana "nine-month campaign of harassment." | fx | Spanking | 1 | June 10th 07 12:30 PM |
Former resident sues county, Department of Social Services: claimsthat "government officials" knew the allegations were false, but still begana "nine-month campaign of harassment." | fx | Foster Parents | 1 | June 10th 07 12:30 PM |
From the "OMG, you've got to be kidding" file... | Dusty | Child Support | 2 | March 18th 06 09:44 AM |