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Housing Market Crash Causes Problems for Divorcing Couples
The real estate market crash made and still makes life difficult for homeowners across the country. House values have plummeted and people are left with loans that are worth more than their homes, making it nearly if not completely impossible to keep up with expensive loan payments or even to sell. According to a Yahoo! Finance article, approximately 3.5 million homeowners are behind on their mortgage payments while another 1.5 million have already begun the foreclosure process. In the next two years, it is estimated that there will be 3.6 million foreclosures.
First Recorded Divorce in U.S. History Tells a Common Tale
According to History.com, the first recorded divorce in the American colonies was that of Anne Clarke and her husband Denis Clarke of the Massachusetts Bay Colony on January 5, 1643. The divorce was granted by the Quarter Court of Boston, MA on the grounds that Denis Clarke abandoned his wife to be with another woman. In a signed affidavit, Denis Clark admitted to having done just that. He and Anna Clarke had two children; he also had two children with the other woman. In the affidavit, he also stated his refusal to return to his original wife. As a result, the Puritan court had no choice but to grant a divorce to Anne Clarke, and punish her absent and adulterous husband.
Although divorce was treated with more severity in the past than it is now, this first recorded divorce highlights an important commonality in the reasons for divorce. The system by which the divorce was carried out in 1643 may be different than the system in 2012, but the reasons for the divorce, adultery and abandonment, are not uncommon today. There are many reasons why a couple may file for divorce in modern times, but the most frequent include:
The 6 Most Common Money Mistakes That Can Lead to Divorce
A recent article in Money Talks News cites a study which claims that nearly 25 percent of all married couples in the U.S. hide financial affairs from each other. According to The National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), financial stress is one of the leading reasons for divorce. A 2009 study also affirms that money issues are one of main predicators of divorce, following drug abuse and infidelity. In order to avoid supporting these statistics in your marriage, it is important to know what the most common financial mistakes are:
- Communicating Poorly, or Not at All. Money is one of the most important topics a married couple should discuss, especially early on in the relationship. Know everything now, no surprises later.
- No Budget. Keeping track of who spends what is necessary to ensure that overspending does not jeopardize your ability to pay your fixed monthly expenses. If there is no budget, then the possibility of falling into debt is that much greater.
What Halloween Can Tell You about Your Marriage
In many marriages, it takes a long time before a spouse notices the signs that something in the relationship is off. Small, everyday signs can be shrugged off as coincidence, but when the holidays come around, the signs tend to become more obvious and difficult to ignore. According to The Huffington Post, Halloween may have the power to foretell whether a couple is heading toward divorce.
Holidays are traditionally spent together, with family, and many married couples have traditions for each of the year’s holidays. Halloween starts off the fall and winter holidays with couples decorating, taking their kids trick-or-treating, hosting a Halloween party, or even just staying home and doing nothing. Routine is not necessarily a bad thing, but if Halloween brings some unexpected changes, it may be a sign that the relationship is in trouble. These signs may include:
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