Family finances. A term that strikes right to the heart for many internationally, from the strongest economies to the weakest, people with different financial minds and goals coming together for unrelated reasons often causes heartache. Divorce rates in the United States have fallen dramatically, a direct correlation with the state of the economy.

MarketWatch discusses the topic with a Phoenix family law attorney, who says “the reason that the economy has such an enormous impact on divorce is that most people in the middle-income brackets are getting by on whatever income they have. They’re just getting by. I tell them about the process, about the cost, and what a reasonable outcome might be. And once they hear the cost, and especially how you have to duplicate two households on the same money that currently funds one household, they try to think about some other options”

Often, her clients are suggested trying living in separate living spaces, but within the same household, though, some of her clients “throw in the towel” and put themselves in a very tough financial position.

The AAML, an organization for family lawyers found that 37% of family lawyers self reported a drop in clients, while only about 20% reported an increase. Most family courts are decreasing falls in the divorce rate, though no aggregate number has been released yet.

One economic analyst said, in response to a request for comment on the possible correlation, “the result of economic turmoil, particularly in response to credit and ‘artificial standards of living’-type crises, is to bring people back to Earth. They force people to look at things reasonably, rather than through this idealistic, wholly ‘American’ view of change, improvement and false growth. If you[r value] aren’t growing, neither is your bank account, realistically, but in the real world, and in people’s short lifespans, it doesn’t always appear that way.”

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