New census data reveals that residents of rural regions of the United States are equally likely to become divorced as residents of urban areas.  Data from previous studies showed that rural residents were less likely to be divorced.

Several reasons have been cited for the rise in rural divorces including a shift in family values, women going to work, smaller cities gaining autonomy, and a lower perentage of residents with college educations.

In 2009, there were approximately 121 million married adults in the United States and 26 million divorced adults.  In 1980, there were about 100 million married adults and 11 million divorced adults.

If you or someone you know is considering filing for divorce and would like to speak with an experienced divorce attorney in Raleigh, contact the Raleigh divorce lawyers of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 to learn more about how we can help you. 

If you and your spouse are considering filing for divorce, it is important to keep in mind how to best handle family issues related to the divorce.  For example, property division, child custody, spousal support, and child support, are all legal matters that may need to be resolved during or after a divorce.

In regards to property division, it can be helpful to make a list of all of your and your spouse's jointly and separately owned property, including both assets and debts.  Not only can this help you understand how things like property division and spousal support could be determined, it can help you know what your individual finances will look like after the divorce.

Also, some recommend using a video camera to walk around you and your spouse's home and and record all of the belongings in the house.  In doing this, you will have clear and reliable documentation of property to be divided.

To discuss the divorce and property division process with an experienced family law attorney, contact the Raleigh marital and separate property attorneys of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 today.

Friday, Mel Gibson, 55, was sentenced to 3 years of probation by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Stephanie Sautner after he plead no contest to charges of domestic violence.  The actor was accused of domestic abuse by his ex-girlfriend, Oksana Grigorieva.  Grigorieva reported domestic violence to the police after she was attacked on January 6th, 2010.  

According to the plea deal, Gibson is required to complete a yearlong domestic violence counseling program and 16 hours of community service.  An attorney in the case said that Gibson decided to agree to the plea deal to minimize unnecessary "trauma and impact" on his and Grigorieva's daughter, Lucia.  Gibson and Grigorieva have not yet been able to come to agreement on child custody and child support.

Gibson's no contest plea does not admit guilt on his part and protects him from having civil damages filed against him by any victims.

If you or someone you know needs to obtain a restraining order to protect themselves from domestic violence, contact the Raleigh domestic violence and restraining order lawyers of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 today. 

The American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers recently reported that 20 percent of marriages in the United States are broken by activity on the social networking website, Facebook.  In addition, 80 percent of lawyers say that they have seen an increase in the use of Facebook as evidence in divorce and family law courts.  And, 66 percent of lawyers say that they use Facebook more than any other website as evidence.

Criminal psychologist Steven Kimmons stated, "We're coming across it more and more.  One spouse connects online with someone they knew from high school.  The person is emotionally available and they start communicating through Facebook.  Within a short amount of time, the sharing of personal stories can lead to a deepend sense of intimacy, which in turn can point the couple in the direction of physical contact."

In North Carolina, if your spouse or former spouse has been involved in an extramarital affair that ended your marriage, you have the option of suing them or the third-party with criminal conversation.  Contact the Raleigh criminal conversation attorneys of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 to learn more about this process.

Actress Halle Berry was recently awarded primary custody of her 2-year old daugher Nahla.  Berry and Gabriel Aubry, her ex-boyfriend and the father of her daughter, were unable to agree on who would care for Nahla and so turned to a court for help in the decision.

An L.A. judge decided that Berry could take Nahla with her to New York City where she will be working on her next movie.  Sources say that Aubry dropped the child custody suit that he had filed against Berry and instead will continue to pursue joint custody.

Aubry has said that he intends to file for a paternity test to officially identify himself as Nahla's father.

If you or someone you know wants to file for joint custody of their child, contact the Raleigh joint custody attorneys of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 to learn more about determing child custody in North Carolina.  

Economists are saying that one simple way to see that the economy is improving is the nationwide increase in divorce filings.  In 2008, divorce rates began to see significant decreases but have started to increase back to the levels seen before the economic recession.  During the recession, the nation's divorce rate fell by 7 percent.  Recently, divorce filings have been up by as much as 15 percent in some places.

Economists and family law attorneys have also noticed that since the recession more and more couples considering divorce are turning to mediation first.  Divorce mediation serves as a middle ground between going to court and handling issues with your spouse on your own.

Contact the Raleigh divorce mediation lawyers of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 today, if you and your spouse are considering divorce and having difficulty resolving issues on your own.

This week, sources say that divorce decisions between singer Christina Aguilera and her music producer husband, Jordan Bratman, have come to an end.  Some sources say that the couple's 5-year marriage officially came to an end.  However, because their divorce papers were not initially filed in a court, the divorce will not become official until six months after the papers were completed on April 15, 2011.

Aguilera and Bratman are said to have come to decisions on child custody, child support, alimony and property divison without attending court.  Divorce papers show that the two decided to share joint-custody of their 3-year old son Max.  The two were also able to come to an agreement concerning their finances, such as assets, debt and property, but the details on the decision were not released. 

Sources say that the couple remained living together and caring for their son until this week.

If you are considering divorce and would like to keep the decisions out of a courtroom, contact the Raleigh divorce mediation attorneys of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 to learn more about your options for divorce. 

The "Survey of Marital Generosity" conducted by researchers at the University of Virginia found that 29 percent of married Americans felt their marriage was hurt by the financial stress they felt during the economic recession of 2007-2009.  The survey polled 1,197 married Americans between the ages of 18 and 45-years old.

The study also considered factors like college education and financial setbacks.  Of study participants who reported suffering from two or more financial setbacks, 20 percent said that they were at a high risk of divorce.  Only 7 percent said that their relationship was not negatively affected by the economy.

In addition, 12 percent of the one-third of participants whose marriages were hurt by the recession said that they were either facing foreclosure or struggling to make mortgage payments.

If you and your spouse have been struggling to hold your marriage together and would like to speak with an attorney about filing for legal separation or divorce in Raleigh, contact the Raleigh separation lawyers of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 today.

A study recently completed by researchers at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management found that there are dramatically higher chances of an Academy Award Winner for Best Actress getting a divorce than nominees in the same category.  The idea of the "Oscar jinx" developed after several actresses including Sandra Bullock, Kate Winslet, Reese Witherspoon, Halle Berry, Hilary Swank, Joan Crawford and Bette Davis all filed for divorce shortly after winning the award.

The study determined that Academy Award winners for Best Actress were 63 percent more likely to become divorce than nominees for the Best Actress Award.  Results between Best Actor winners and nominees were not nearly as different.  The median marriage length for Best Actor winners was 11.97 years and the median length for Best Actor nominees was 12.66 years.  For actresses, the median marriage length for a Best Actress winner was 4.30 years while the median length for nominees was 9.51 years.   

Only two of the Academy Awards' Best Actress nominees for this year are married.  43-year old Nicole Kidman, who stars in the film "Rabbit Hole", is married to country singer Keith Urban and 52-year old Annette Benning, nominated for her role in "The Kids Are Alright", is married to Academy Award winner Warren Beatty.

Contact the Raleigh alienation of affection attorneys of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 today, if you believe that a third party has damaged or destroyed your marriage.

Researchers from Indiana University recently published a study in the journal "Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research" that found alcohol dependence delays marriage and causes divorces.  The American Psychological Association defines alcohol dependence as the loss of control over alcohol consumption.  Alcohol dependence and alcoholism also means that a person develops a greater alcohol tolerance and suffers from withdrawals if drinking is stopped.

The study had 5,000 participants between the ages of 28 and 92-years old with a history of alcohol dependence.  For men and women, alcohol dependence meant the chances of separation or divorce were twice as likely.  Women were 23 percent less likely to be married if they had been dependent on alcohol at some point in their lives.  Men were 36 percent less likely after the age of 29.  

Study author Mary Waldron stated, "For young adults who are drinking, if their drinking continues to levels of problem use, it could impact their likelihood of marriage as well as likelihood of having a really lasting marriage".

To discuss divorce and marital misconduct with a compassionate family law attorney, contact the Raleigh marital misconduct lawyers of Marshall & Taylor P.C. at 919-833-1040 today.