According to a recent study, there is a direct connection between the amount spent on a wedding and the duration of the marriage. Two Emory University economics professors Andrew M. Francis and Hugo M. Mialon performed a study to evaluate the association between wedding spending and marriage duration. The professors found evidence that marriage duration is inversely associated with spending on the engagement ring and wedding ceremony.
The professors prepared the report using data from a survey of over 3,000 ever-married persons in the United States. The survey included a variety of questions to gather information on marital status, marriage duration, children, length of time dated, feelings and attitudes at the time of wedding proposal, honeymoon, engagement ring expenses, wedding attendance, total wedding expenses, and age.
The report found that relatively high spending on the wedding is inversely associated with marriage duration among female respondents. Furthermore, relatively low spending on the wedding is positively associated with duration among male and female respondents. For example, spending between $2,000 and $4,000 on an engagement ring is associated with a 1.3 times greater hazard of divorce as compared to spending between $500 and $2,000.
According to the report, this is “little evidence to support the validity of the wedding industry’s general message that connects expensive weddings with positive marital outcomes.” If you want to have a long marriage, the keys (at least according to the report) are high wedding attendance and having a honeymoon.
What Divorce Options Are Available in Ohio
According to the Ohio Department of Health, in 2011, there were 67,606 marriages and 38,306 divorces in Ohio. For every 100 marriages, there were 58.1 divorces. Unfortunately, for one reason or another, marriages often do not work and couples must decide to end the marriage. In Ohio, there is the traditional method of dissolution, which allows a couple to amicably terminate a marriage by entering into an agreement dividing a couple’s property and allocating parental rights and responsibilities. If the process is more contentious, however, then a couple may require court intervention, which is known as a divorce action.
Another option is legal separation, which is when a married couple chooses to live separately, but they do not terminate the marriage. Finally, collaborative divorce is a non-traditional process where parties seek to resolve marriage without the court. In this process, the parties sign a collaborative family law participation agreement and are represented by collaborative family lawyers.
Depending on one’s situation, it may make more sense to choose legal separation over a divorce or collaborative divorce over the traditional dissolution or divorce. An experienced Ohio divorce attorney can help guide you through this process to make the right decision for your marriage.
Contact a Cleveland Divorce Lawyer
If you are going through a divorce or have questions regarding the division of marital property in Ohio, Laubacher & Co.’s experienced Cleveland divorce law attorneys can help answer your questions. Our Ohio divorce attorneys can help protect your rights to make sure that you recover your fair share of marital property. Laubacher & Co. also provides a variety of other family law services, including issues involving child custody, parental rights, adoption, and domestic violence.
Contact our Cleveland divorce law attorneys today for a free consultation. Call us now (440) 336-8687 or visit our office at 20525 Center Ridge Road, Suite 626, in Rocky River.