You never expected marriage to be this difficult. Before you married you imagined all of the fun that you would have as a couple. All of the opportunities to travel together. The first home you would buy. The children you would have. The careers that you would pursue.
Those imaginings did not last long. Even before your children were born you could already sense the problems. Credit card charges that your spouse never told you about. Late mortgage payment notices when you thought that the payments had been made. Arguments over how much you were willing to spend on summer camp options for the kids. In fact, now that you think about it, the money problems were the biggest stress in the marriage. Now you find yourself getting ready to contact a family law firm and asking questions about the process of getting a divorce.
Getting Legal Advice from Divorce Attorneys Can Help Families Considering Separation
Statistically, in America there is one divorce every 36 seconds. In total, that amounts to nearly 2,400 divorces every day, 16,800 divorces every week, and 876,000 divorces every year. Researchers indicate that by percentage this means that nearly 50% of all first marriages will end in divorce. Additionally, 60% of all second marriages end in divorce.
For all of these cases, a family law firm can be of assistance. In the case of divorce, for example, a family law firm can facilitate the quick processing of simple no fault divorce cases. In more complicated divorces, family law advice can help couples find the best ways to divide assets, assign child support amounts, and determine child custody issues involving the following statistics:
- 62.3% of the money owed in child support is received on time.
- $3,770 a year is the average amount of money that custodial parents who receive child support get. This equates to approximately $311 a month.
- Unpaid child support totaled $37.9 billion in during the year 2011. The average amount of unpaid child support due was $6,050 a year, or $500 a month.
- Nearly 50% of custodial parents in America have some sort of legal or informal child support agreement, according to Custodial Mothers and Fathers and Their Child Support, a 2011 report released by the U.S. Census Bureau in October of 2013. This statistic represents the 14.4 million custodial parents in America.
Abuse Statistics in America Are Alarming
In some situations, a family law firm is needed to make sure that all family members are safe. In the case of suspected or documented abuse, for example, some families turn to family law lawyers to get a restraining order. Consider the following abuse statistics:
- In 2011 1,509 women were murdered by men they knew. Of those 1,509, 926 were killed by an intimate partner while 264 were killed by an intimate partner during an argument.
- 4.8 million American women experience physical violence by an intimate partner each year.
- 38 million American women have experienced physical intimate partner violence in their lifetimes.
- According to the the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, every nine seconds a woman in America is assaulted or beaten.
- In their lifetime, 25% of all American women will be a victim of severe violence by an intimate partner.
- In their lifetime, 14% of all American men will be a victim of severe violence by an intimate partner.
Seeking Legal Advice Early Helps Couples Seeking Divorce
Marriage is not easy; neither is divorce. And while starting, maintaining, and ending a marriage is difficult, seeking legal advice at the time of divorce is essential. Without direction from a family law attorney it is difficult to understand the complicated process of dividing assets, determining child support, assigning custodial care, and scheduling visitations. Add in a dangerous abuse situation and legal advice can be life saving.
When as many as 50% of all marriages in America end in divorce, it is not surprising that the number of available attorneys is plentiful. Before making a decision about who will represent you, make sure that you research your available options and talk to friends and family members for recommendations. Who you decide to hire to represent you may determine the financial implications for the rest of your life, implications that will also affect your children as well.
