Tucson Family Law Blog

Two people walking down the aisle together in Arizona often have specific reasons why they made the decision to tie the knot. This is also true when a couple decides to end a marriage. In order to find out the specific reasons why some couples split, the National Center for Biotechnology Information conducted a study to rank the top divorce-related factors. They did this by interviewing divorced couples who had participated in a prevention and relationship enhancement program before getting married.

Respondents were asked if their marriages ended because of a combination of factors or if there was a "final straw" that led to the decision to divorce. Interestingly, just over 13 percent of the former couples surveyed said a lack of sufficient premarital education was a factor, even though all participants had taken marriage prep courses. One ex-spouse felt that the course didn't address the various stages of marriage that couples tend to go through. Religious differences and lack of family support were other lower-ranking divorce factors that significantly affected some relationships.

A prenuptial agreement can be effective for anyone thinking about getting married regardless of how old they are. For younger people attending school in Arizona and elsewhere, they may find it hard to imagine one day having many valuable assets to divide. It can also be tough to think about the future when there is uncertainty over what type of educational and career track a person could take.

However, the discussions that take place while working out a prenuptial agreement can serve young people well. A conversation with a parent or a financial adviser may make it easier for a student to find out what he or she owns and what those assets are worth. The prenuptial agreement could help determine what happens to assets if a spouse dies. In some cases, younger individuals may agree to let assets pass to the deceased spouse's parents or other relatives.

Many people in Arizona maintain relationships with what could be termed "similarly matched" individuals. However, there are some men who seek to partner with more attractive spouses. An assessment of online dating data shows that both men and women have a tendency to seek out potential partners up to 25 percent more attractive than themselves. While it is possible for such relationships to be successful, there's research from multiple sources suggesting that a physical attractiveness discrepancy in a marriage tends to increase the risk of divorce.

The reason for a greater divorce risk with physically mismatched couples isn't necessarily a lack of commitment on the part of the more attractive spouse. Research suggests some marriages of this nature have a shorter duration because of jealousy on the part of the less attractive partner. However, one study suggests another contributing factor may be that women with less attractive significant others are more likely to flirt.

When people get a divorce and one or both of them owns a business, there may be a complex process to decide what share of the business each person gets and what happens to the business. Since Arizona is a community property state, a business created after the marriage will usually be considered the property of both spouses. If the business was started before the marriage, there may be a more complicated issue of determining how much the company's value has increased since the marriage began.

The first step will be to get an accurate valuation of the business. This should be done by someone who has been recommended by a trusted legal or financial professional or by someone associated with the American Society of Appraisers. The appraisal should take into account the value of any equipment and real estate holdings as well as the company's reputation and other less tangible items. A family-run business may have some informal dealings that are more difficult to identify, and if the divorce is a contentious one, one person might attempt to hide or overstate the company's value.