Analysis of the latest trends and news about divorces

As our society changes, so do our values ​​and standards, as well as what we consider to be norms in terms of behavior. This affects everything from our choices in education and career, to relationships, and of course just about every other aspect of how we conduct our lives. And while Marriage and Divorce, capital letters intended here, appear to be solid and unchanging, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Both are dynamic and evolve over time, as can be seen by looking at even a few years of divorce news and trends.

An example of this is the general rate of marriages and divorces in the country. Both rates have been falling. In 2016, the latest year with statistics fully available at the time of writing, the marriage rate was 6.9 marriages per 1,000 total population, up from 8.2 in 2000. Meanwhile, for divorces, latest figures show 3.2 per 1,000, down from 4.0 in the same time frame. Fewer people are getting married and fewer are getting divorced.

However, not all types of divorce are declining in prevalence. A specific type is being shot. That’s gray divorce, a term used to refer to couples over the age of 50 in long-term marriages divorcing. The rate there has doubled since 1990.

Another emerging divorce trend is the rights of animals in family law cases, and the quest to protect their welfare precludes viewing them as tradable assets. Currently, three states in the country have laws on record that provide exactly that, including Alaska, Illinois and California, and more in the future seems to be a foregone conclusion.

Meanwhile, everything related to income and opportunity disparity, such as discussions of the 1% vs. the 99%, and heated debates and laws about tax rates for the rich, remain in the spotlight. Consider this: The world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos, is also getting a divorce. The result will likely also be the most expensive divorce settlement in history, given his status. His personal wealth was estimated to be around $140 billion as of early 2019, and half of that — give or take a few mansions or Amazon stock options — could be up for grabs.

Speaking of financial matters, another divorce trend right now is the increasing prevalence and confusion about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in divorce. Cryptocurrencies were generally designed to be difficult or impossible to trace cleanly, while wild swings in their value make it difficult to estimate fair value. Both of these issues represent causes of headache for those trying to resolve digital financial assets in divorce cases for years to come.

Clearly, much is changing in the world of marriage and divorce. Staying up-to-date on the latest divorce news and trends is important in and of itself, and can also be a useful way to gauge what’s going on in other parts of society.