Getting Married in Late Thirties Increases Risk of Divorce

Orange County, CA (Law Firm Newswire) September 22, 2015 – A new study has identified a shift in divorce trends, saying that people have the best chances of staying married if they wed between the ages of 25 and 32. The risk of divorce increases by five percent each year past the age of 32.

University of Utah sociologist Nicholas Wolfinger examined data from the National Survey of Family Growth from 2006 to 2010 and found that the odds of divorce decline steadily from the teenage years into the late twenties. However, couples who delay marriage until they are in their late thirties or early forties are more likely to divorce than those who wed in their late twenties, which are viewed as the years of peak marital stability.

Wolfinger theorized that people “delay marriage, often because they can’t find anyone willing to marry them . . . Perhaps people who marry later face a pool of potential spouses that has been winnowed down to exclude the individuals most predisposed to succeed at matrimony.”

Gerald Maggio, a family law attorney in Orange County, California, said, “Financial security, good communication skills and compromise are some of the factors that contribute to a lasting marriage, regardless of age, but there is no formula that guarantees marital success. If you are going through a divorce, the process is likely to be a difficult and emotional one, whether it is at a young age or later in life.”

Sociologists have traditionally believed that waiting longer to get married leads to a more stable marriage. Along with being financially stable, people in their late twenties or early thirties are deemed to have more experience in making significant life choices and the willingness to make the lifestyle and goal adjustments that marriage often requires. Couples in that age group are also less likely to have children. In his study, Wolfinger noted that children from past relationships can create conflict in a new one.

“Divorce becomes a lot more complicated when children are involved. No matter how old they are, divorcing spouses who are parents have the additional responsibility of ensuring their children emerge from the divorce process as unscathed as possible. Take a mature approach to the situation and make sure you treat your child with patience and understanding,” said Maggio.

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