DIVORCE GROUNDS ARE LESS OF A NUISANCE IN ST. PAUL THAN IN LONDON

On behalf of Askvig & Johnson, PLLP 

When St. Paul couples are in the midst of divorce proceedings, they have some control over the personal details revealed in court and in divorce documents. Depending on the circumstances of the divorce, financial information may be discussed during the division of assets and spousal or child support negotiations; and character qualities can come up during a custody dispute.

These things depend on how contentious the divorce is and how a couple and their attorneys choose to handle the divorce. In many cases, something that is usually kept private is just what drove the couple to divorce. This is because in Minnesota, as in the rest of the U.S., no-fault divorces are permitted. This means that neither party must prove grounds for divorce, rather a couple can end their marriage due to irreconcilable differences. Things work quite differently in England, where couples often have to air their dirty laundry in front of a judge to obtain a divorce.

According to a recent New York Times article, ordinary annoying habits are often listed in English divorce cases because, along with adultery and abandonment, English couples can attempt to prove "unreasonable behavior" in their divorce cases.

For example, divorce petitions have included husbands' complaints about their wives cooking skills; one man said his wife simply made tuna casserole, his least favorite dish, way too often. Another man charged that his wife had a habit of throwing away perfectly good cold cuts and tampering with the TV antenna. There have also been complaints about husbands who have poor body odors or change TV channels too fast.

As you can imagine, some judges in England are becoming tired of evaluating these seemingly mundane marriage quarrels, and there has been talk among legal professional to reform the country's divorce laws.

Back in Minnesota, couples do not need to worry about this. If your husband has an aversion to picking his towels off the bathroom floor, or your wife has a habit of yammering constantly while you are watching your favorite show--you can leave those annoyances in the past, check "irreconcilable differences" and move forward from there.

Source: New York Times, "Tuna Again? In Fault-Finding England, It's a Cause for Divorce," Sarah Lyall, April 7, 2012

IS THE DIVORCE RATE HIGHER AMONG CONSERVATIVE PROTESTANTS?

On behalf of Askvig & Johnson, PLLP 

According to a recently released study, conservative Protestants may be more likely to end their marriages than those who are more liberal and those who prescribe to other religions. After hearing this, readers in Minnesota may be wondering why this seems to be the case. A recent article explains all of the details.

The study is slated to be released in the America Journal of Sociology. What makes the findings perplexing is religiously conservative individuals place high value on the sanctity of marriage. So, why are they more likely to go through divorce? According to researchers, the high rate of marital dissolution is tied to getting married and having children at an earlier age.

Generally speaking, these two factors are known to increase the rate of divorce. This is true because starting a family earlier tends to prevent those individuals from finishing their education or pursuing a higher level of education, which leaves them with lower wages. This, in turn, puts more stress on the family which increases likelihood of divorce.

The next question is what makes an individual a Protestant? This research study qualifies someone as a Protestant if their religion places high value on the literal meanings of the Bible. That, paired with conservative political viewpoints, would make an individual a conservative Protestant according to this study.

In addition to the higher likelihood of divorce in conservative Protestants, the study shows that for every one percent increase in the conservative Protestant population in an area, the overall divorce rate increased by 0.02 percent. This seems to show that the existence of conservative Protestants increases the divorce rate for those living around them.

Although the findings of this study are quite intriguing, divorce is often a difficult situation for members of all political and religious groups. During the divorce process, many decisions must be made, property needs divided and, if children are involved, child support and custody must be agreed upon.

All of these issues usually cause emotions to run high. Therefore, it is often helpful to speak with a family law attorney who can relieve some of the pressure and help a divorcing party move through his or her marital dissolution as quickly as possible and reach a favorable outcome so he or she can move forward with his or her lives.

Source: Los Angeles Times, "More religiously conservative Protestants? More divorce, study finds," Emily Alpert Reyes, Jan. 17, 2014

The Top Reasons People Stay in Unhappy Marriages

Source: Huffington Post. "The Top 10 Reasons People Stay In Unhappy Marriages." Brittany Wong. December 18, 2014.

IS SECRET SPENDING CONTRIBUTING TO DIVORCE IN MINNESOTA?

On behalf of Askvig & Johnson, PLLP 

When a married couple decides to call it quits, it could be for any number of reasons. In many cases multiple reasons have combined to cause a struggling couple to decide that divorce is the best next step. But research studies have shown that financial disagreements are one of the main drivers of disputes in marriage that often lead to divorce.

A research study conducted in 2011 by the National Endowment for Financial Education showed that financial infidelity has a negative impact on relationships 68 percent of the time. This study also showed that 16 percent of marriages end because of it. In addition, a study conducted by researchers at Kansas State University in 2013 showed that arguing about money is the best way to predict divorce. Another recent study shows something very similar: secret credit card spending can lead to divorce.

According to this new study, one in ten people admit that their spouse's or their own secret credit card spending played some part in their separation or divorce. Of the 1,000 men and women polled in the study, 36 percent said they keep their purchases a secret because they know their spouse will be mad and 35 percent keep them a secret simply because they know their spouse will disapprove.

Arguably the most interesting finds in this survey were the following: some people were actually using their credit cards on necessary living expenses and while women were 60 percent more likely than men to hide their purchases, men actually spent more.

Money problems and financial disputes may just be the tip of the iceberg for some couples who have decided a marital dissolution is the only way to go. However, if one or both of the individuals have a tendency to keep secrets, then division of property could become more difficult. It is always helpful to have an experienced Minnesota divorce attorney on one's side.

Source: Huffington Post, "Secret Credit Card Spending And Divorce Linked In New Survey," Oct. 14, 2013

MAKING THE DECISION TO DIVORCE WITH CHILDREN

On behalf of Askvig & Johnson, PLLP 

Numerous individuals in Minnesota are married. However, most residents of the state are aware that sometimes marriages just don't work out, and some couples decide that divorce is their best option. There are many questions that a couple has to ask and many decisions that they need to make when they decide to move forward with a marital dissolution. When the couple has children, there are even more questions, and the decisions become even harder to make.

The key to making a divorce as easy on the children as possible, whether it is a contested divorce or an uncontested divorce, is that the parents be civil to one another when the children are around. This will decrease the anxiety of an already stressful situation for the children. It is important to remember that no matter what issues exist between the parents the children should not be involved. A parent that says something bad about the other parent to a child will hurt the child.

In addition, when a couple has children but they are not getting along and think that a divorce may be in their future, there are two questions that they commonly will ask. The first is whether they should remain married for the sake of the children. If they decide that is not feasible, then they will often ask themselves what age is the easiest for children to go through a divorce.

Couples will often decide to stay together indefinitely for the sake of the children or to stay together until the children are older because they believe a divorce will then be easier to handle. However, what those parents don't understand is that the teenage years are very tough for children anyway and the older the child is the more adjustments they will have to make. Younger children adapt to a new routine much more quickly.

Divorce can be difficult and sometimes the heightened emotions paired with figuring out the correct procedures that must be followed to finalize a divorce can be stressful. Thankfully, there are family law attorneys in Minnesota that are familiar with all of the procedures and state laws, and they can help couples work through these hard times as quickly as possible without the added complexity of having to learn the laws.

Source: Examiner.com, "Divorce does not have to be devastating for children if parents can get along," Dawn Michael, Jan. 3, 2014