Wexford Pennsylvania Family Law Blog

The dissolution of a marriage can be not only financially but also emotionally difficult on both of the spouses going through it. However, research shows that divorce can be especially tough on men. Here are a couple of reasons why men in Pennsylvania and elsewhere may have a hard time navigating the divorce process.

A study recently indicated that men who are divorced are more vulnerable to strokes, heart disease and high blood pressure when compared with married men. In addition, divorced men have a 39 percent greater chance of taking part in risky behavior or even committing suicide. A major reason for this is that men often lose their identities while going through divorce, which, in turn, may cause them to lose their confidence.

Going through the dissolution of a marriage can no doubt be frustrating emotionally. However, it can also be overwhelming from a financial standpoint, especially when it comes to property division. Here are some tips for dealing with the splitting of marital property during a marital break-up in PA.

Laws concerning the splitting of marital assets vary from one state to the next. For instance, some states are known as community property states, meaning that the courts in these states split a couple's shared assets 50/50. Meanwhile, other states -- including Pennsylvania -- are known as equitable distribution states. In these states, a divorcing couple's jointly owned property does not need to be divided 50/50.

Many individuals in Pennsylvania enter marriage with the expectation that they will enjoy marital bliss for many years to come. Unfortunately, sometimes divorce is inevitable. For this reason, creating a prenuptial agreement may be a smart move for couples who are about to marry.

A prenuptial agreement allows an individual who is about to wed to protect him or herself financially in the event that a divorce occurs down the road. These types of agreements can designate particular future and current assets as separate -- or individually owned -- instead of marital property. This is significant in that marital property is subject to distribution during divorce, whereas separate property is not.

Things are different today for couples who have decided to call it quits. Couples in Pennsylvania who wish to divorce will find the process much less complicated today, and there is less stigma attached to conscious uncoupling. Yet there are still some people who can be labeled divorce-a-phobes, and they don't miss a beat when it comes to shaming those who are divorced. But the culprit may actually be marriage.

Many experts say that the marriage bar is set so high that it is almost impossible to reach the height. So, when marriages fail, the couple may be judged and shamed for not being able to live up to the ideals espoused by many regarding marriage. Society tends to commend those who stick with it through thick and thin. Stay and suffer seems to be lauded in many instances, rather than cut loose and run.