Major events can have an impact on people going through divorce. With the stunning election results from yesterday, what does a Trump presidency mean for divorce and family law?
Not much. Divorces are state concerns. With the rising mobility of families, many cases cross state lines and international borders. In August, President Obama signed the implementing treaty for the Hague Convention on the Recovery of International Child Support.
However, the president has had little impact in this area of law. Even on a personal level, presidents have little connection to divorce. Ronald Reagan was the only president of the United States who was even divorced. Until now. President Elect Donald Trump has been divorced twice.
I’ve written about divorce statistics before. There are some very interesting statistics about divorce:
– In America, the divorce rate for a first marriage is around 41%.
– The divorce rate for a second marriage is 60%.
– The divorce rate for a third marriage is 73%.
– The average length of divorce proceedings in the United States is 1 year.
– Western states have the highest marriage and divorce rates, followed by the South. The Northeast has the lowest marriage and divorce rates.
– Nevada has the highest rate of divorce at 14.7%.
– Florida’s rate of divorce is around 13.%
– If a spouse has gained more than 20% of his or her body weight, divorce is more likely.
– The most expensive divorce was Rupert and Anna Murdoch’s in 1999: $1.7 billion.
In answer to the question “what a Trump presidency means for divorce and family law?” Probably lots of funny late-night impersonators and not much else.