New Study Shows Correlation between Income and the Risk of Divorce

 Posted on January 09, 2015 in Divorce

According to a recent study, the more money a couple makes, the less likely they are to divorce. However, when couples who do have a lot of assets decide to divorce, the result often involves complex litigation regarding child custody and support, spousal support, and asset and property division.

The study, conducted by researchers from the Department of Economics at Emory University in Atlanta, took data that was collected for a different study. In the Emory University study, there were 3,000 participants. All of the participants had been married at least once, after 2008. Participants were asked dozens of questions about their marriages, including the length of time they dated their spouse, age of marriage, engagement ring, wedding and honeymoon expenses, and the duration of the marriage.

In the new study, Randy Olson, a fourth-year computer science graduate research assistant at Michigan State University, took all of the data from the Emory University study and crunched it. He discovered, among other findings, a direct relationship between the divorce rate and a couple's income. According to the numbers, couples who earn over $125K per year are 50 percent less likely to divorce than couples who earn under $25K per year.

Other findings from the data include how age and education affect the chance of divorce between couples. Olson discovered that the larger the age gap between spouses, the greater the chance is they will divorce. Education level differences also appear to play a role in a marriage's success, especially for women. When there is an education level difference between spouses, there is a 50 percent increase in the likelihood of divorce for women, 32 percent for men.

The greater the education level of a married couple is often a correlation of the income they earn and assets they are able to acquire throughout their marriage. If the couple splits up, it is important to retain the services of an aggressive Cedar Park high-asset divorce attorney to make sure that one spouse does not end up with more than they are entitled to in a final divorce settlement. If you fear your marriage is at risk of divorce, and you would like to speak with a divorce attorney, call 512-610-6199 today.