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Another Casualty of Financial Crisis: Divorce

Two households no longer affordable as couples struggle to pay for one

By Kristina Loew, Newser User

Posted Nov 27, 2008 8:28 AM CST

(Newser) – With unemployment rising, salaries stagnant, and housing prices cratering, many unhappy couples are opting not to divorce, reports MSNBC. “A lot of people are deciding, 'It’s not worth it to do it (at) this time. Let’s stay together. Let’s try to work through our problems and hope that the economy will spring back,’” one Miami lawyer says.

With a divorce costing as much as $188,000 and many couples owing more on their homes than the properties are now worth, some are turning to marriage counseling. One Illinois therapist has seen a 25% jump, bucking the trend of rising divorces during recession. Says a New York therapist: "I had a woman say to me: ‘My God, I can’t stand my husband. Every day I just want to leave him, but I can’t afford it.'"

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With couples straining to pay mortgages, spending tens of thousands on divorce is an expense many feel they can't afford. (AP Photo)

Shutterstock. File Photo. Copyright Perov Stanislav (http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-18184201-man-and-woman-conflict-isolated-on-white.html)

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While the stress of economic uncertainty often worsens already shaky unions, it also can make couples more financially dependent on each other.
- Pamela Smock, a researcher at the University of Michigan

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Another Casualty of Financial Crisis: Divorce