With divorce splashed across the news nationwide, many aren’t sure what this means for marriage and families. Are more marriages beginning, ending, or never formed in the first place? Are high divorce rates any kind of a deterrent for couples thinking of entering into a legal union? A recent report has compiled a list of divorce facts directly from Texas’ Department of State Health Services.
State Health Services recorded a breakdown of the counties with the highest and lowest divorce rates. This is for counties with 10,000 residents or more. Bell County, Texas had the highest divorce rate among any of the counties recording 12.89 divorces per 1,000 residents. However, both marriage and divorce rates are down from the all-time high set in Texas in 1981 which recorded 101,856 divorces that year. In 2012, only 80,030 couples decided to part ways.
Shockingly, 62,196 children were involved in parents’ divorces in 2012. They were involved in 45 percent of all divorces in the state that year. This shows that divorce is not only a division of two people; it is a division of families. This is why it is more important than ever that parents do their best to put the best interests’ of the child first. Sometimes, it becomes difficult and parents lose sight of this objective.
While no one plans on divorcing their significant other, the reality is it does happen. It is all about how the couple chooses to deal with the divorce. If children are involved, certain precautions and attitudes should be taken in order to ensure the best interests of the children. While divorces are on the decline in Texas since 1981, many couples will seek dissolution and should ensure that they understand their legal rights — especially when it comes to their children.
Source: MySA, “9 Surprising facts about marriage and divorce in Texas,” Joshua Fechter, March 2, 2015