As divorce rates continue to climb, many have been studying what could possibly cause the once happy marriages to dissolve. A recent study polled thousands of Americans married in 2008 or later. What the researchers discovered could be particularly worrisome for couples who spent a large amount of money on their wedding and marriage expenses. The study showed that marriage duration is inversely associated with spending on the engagement ring and wedding.
This is also true of couples who reside in Texas. The study showed that if you spent between 10 and 20 thousand dollars on your wedding expenses, you were 29% more likely to get divorced than if you spent between five and 10 thousand. Even more frightening, if a couple spent more than $20,000 on wedding expenses they are 46% more likely to get a divorce than the more frugal group. This data shows a strong relationship between wedding spending and divorce.
For couples going through a high asset divorce, this statistic may hold true for them. Typically, if a couple spends more than $20,000 on a wedding, they will also have a significant marital property that is subject to asset division. It is crucial to have a correct calculation of assets and liabilities during divorce proceedings. This gives the divorcing couple the best shot at equal asset division.
One thing to remember about this study is that it examined people married in 2008 or later. This was a period of time known for more meager economic times. This is an outlying factor that was not considered. The results of this study may very well be different if the study took into account couples married earlier.
Source: Social Science Research Network, “‘A Diamond is Forever’ and Other Fairy Tales: The Relationship between Wedding Expenses and Marriage Duration,” Accessed Oct. 26, 2014