Money and divorce often go hand-in-hand. In fact, according to one study, financial problems are second only to infidelity when looking at reasons for a divorce. In other words, if your spouse isn’t having an affair, then the reason that you get divorced is probably because of financial stress.
What people often assume is that this means the couple is having conflicts about how to spend limited resources. Maybe one person thinks they should save for retirement while the other wants to spend their money much sooner. Or maybe one person lost their job, so the couple is no longer able to pay their basic bills, such as rent or utilities.
All of these financial issues could lead to a divorce, but there’s also evidence that having an excessive amount of wealth increases your divorce odds.
Why would this happen?
Divorce rates tend to go up in times of economic success, suggesting that wealthy couples have higher divorce rates. If the economy is doing well and there’s enough money to go around, couples are more likely to break up.
This sounds backward when considering the type of financial stress discussed above, but the reason here is that being wealthy can create freedom. Many less-wealthy couples feel financially dependent on one another, so they worry that getting a divorce could create even more monetary issues in the future. But when couples know that they have plenty of money to go around, if one person is unhappy with the marriage, they may be much more likely to leave. They know that they have financial security either way.
When couples do decide to split up, money is often a point of contention during the divorce proceedings. It’s important for all involved to know what legal options they have.