The typical scenario that often comes to mind when divorce is mentioned is that of a middle-aged woman being left by her husband for a younger woman. However, in over 70% of cases, it’s actually women who file for divorce. Women in North Carolina give many reasons for filing for divorce, but they usually fall into one of a few broad categories.
Women may feel that marriage is holding them back. Most women are in the workforce and contributing financially to their families. Despite this, they are still responsible for the majority of the housework. Women can feel like they are having to do it all. If they are successful at doing it all and they find career success, many can feel they have to downplay it in order not to bruise their husbands’ egos.
In addition to doing the lion’s share of the household work, most of the emotional work also falls on women. Women tend to be in charge of facilitating communication with their family and friends. This naturally leads to women having emotional support from people other than their husbands, which may make them more willing to leave the marriage. Men, on the other hand, tend to get all of their emotional support from their wives. Finally, women are less likely to tolerate behaviors such as infidelity from their husbands.
Regardless of who ends up filing, intense emotions are part of the end of a marriage. Couples who are divorcing may benefit from the help of a lawyer experienced in the issues that arise during a divorce, such as property division, child custody, alimony and parenting time. A lawyer may be able to help couples settle their disputes as fairly as possible.