Couples in North Carolina may be interested to learn that divorce is on the decline throughout the country. Furthermore, marriage is on the rise. In 2015, among every 1,000 women over the age of 15, 32.2 marriages took place compared to 31.9 in 2014.
This research came from the National Center for Family and Marriage Research at Bowling Green State University. The NCFMR also reported that the divorce rate among married women over the age of 15 per 1,000 was 16.9 in 2015. This was a decrease from the 17.6 figure in 2014. In 1980, the number was 23.
There is not necessarily a correlation between the two, and it is not clear why the divorce rate is dropping. One reason could be that more people are choosing to live together rather than getting married. However, researchers say that any marriage still has about a 50/50 chance of ending in divorce. Data also shows that people who are well-off are more likely to stay married than people in lower income brackets.
People who are facing divorce may have a number of questions about how child support and custody might be negotiated and how property will be divided. If they have not participated much in managing the family finances, they might want to review income, assets and debts and take paperwork such as bank statements and tax returns to an attorney to discuss the situation. If one parent has been the main caregiver, he or she may want child custody, but the other parent might want joint custody. Parents who have not worked outside the home may need spousal support while they train for a new job. A couple might be able to work with their attorneys and come to an agreement on these issues through mediation.