Divorce has become quite common in Arizona and in other states, and one factor may be cohabitation before marriage. Researchers have found that couples who live together prior to marriage experience a higher divorce rate than couples who wait until marriage to move in together. Researchers have labeled this the “premarital cohabitation effect.”
The recent study confirms previous research on the topic. Researchers in the recent study wanted to examine the longer-term effects of cohabitation, arguing that previous studies only looked at short-term effects.
The study found that cohabitation prior to marriage is linked with a lower risk of divorce during the first year, but the risk of divorce rises during every subsequent year. Researchers looked at data from women aged 44 and younger in their first marriages from 1970 to 2015.
A report from 2017 of U.S. adults showed that 65 percent believed that cohabitation prior to marriage was a good thing while 35 percent believed that cohabitation was not a good idea. Approximately 40 percent of children are born outside of marriage, mostly to couples who are living together rather than single mothers.
Individuals who are facing divorce legal issues such as division of property and debt may benefit from consulting an attorney experienced in family law litigation. An attorney may be able to assist clients fight for child custody and request a court to award child support. It may be possible for some spouses to request alimony or spousal support, especially in cases where the marriage lasted a long time and one spouse took time off from working to take care of the couple’s home and children.
Many people who are going through a divorce want to get it over with quickly. However, it is important to consider that some decisions in a divorce like division of marital property are difficult to change later. An attorney may be able to help clients with the stress of divorce by handling the paperwork and much of the negotiation process.