Divorce: 5 Things You Should Know

Divorce: 5 Things Men Should Know

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Divorce is popular — too popular. It's like your favorite local band ruined by fame: Once the masses first got their hands on the no-fault divorce in 1970s America, they abused it. Now, thanks to them, it's primed for a major backlash.

This backlash doesn't mean the public has developed a distaste for the divorce-related details of others — not on your life. But there are some universal details that are often overlooked... until now. We offer up 5 things you didn't know about divorce.

1- Born-again Christians have the highest divorce rate

The first thing you didn't know about divorce is that some predictors of divorce need to be shouted from the mountain top.

A study by Barna Research Group found that the 33% divorce rate among born-again Christians — or evangelicals — was the highest among Christian denominations. Not surprisingly, these results met with a flood of criticism, much of which raised one of the most disputed questions in this field: What is the biggest predictor of divorce among the broader population — the most common of all the common denominators?

The answer generally depends on whom you ask, but two predictors frequently mentioned are age at marriage and income. Notably, couples under age 20 with an income under $25,000 have a very high risk of divorcing. Throw in a pregnancy, and they're pretty much doomed.

2- The average divorce costs over $50,000

The popular legal DIY site legalzoom.com tells potential customers that divorce "doesn't have to be complicated or costly" and that their services can wrap up an uncontested divorce "in three simple steps," all for $299.

What that fee does not cover (and doesn't purport to cover) are all the hidden costs. Using a variety of statistics from the 2006 US Census Bureau, divorce360.com came to an average figure for those hidden costs: about $53,000. While admitting that every divorce is different, the site nonetheless reached that figure by adding up costs such as couples/marriage therapy before the divorce, individual therapy for each spouse and for their children after divorce, moving costs, fees for attorneys and financial advisors, the costs of selling the marital home, of acquiring a new mortgage on a smaller home for one spouse, and apartment rental costs for the other spouse.

Point being, there's far more to divorce than three simple steps.

Read on for the rest of what men should know about divorce...