Popular culture often portrays women as the victims of divorce, left by their philandering husbands after decades of faithful partnership. The truth, it turns out, is a much different picture. In the vast majority of cases, it is the wife who initiates a divorce. Most women in Indiana and across the country file for divorce for reasons that fit into these broad categories.
The first reason many women file for divorce is that they feel their marriage is holding them back. Most women are in the workforce and are contributing to their families financially. They may have found success in their careers and yet feel that they have to downplay it to uphold their husbands’ egos. On top of contributing financially, studies show that women continue to handle most of the household chores.
In addition to doing most of the household labor, women continue to find themselves responsible for the emotional work in marriage. Women may feel more confident doing emotional work and therefore more inclined to help others process their emotions. They are usually tasked with facilitating communication with their family and friends as well. This often results in women having more outside emotional support while most men rely on their wives to provide all of their emotional support.
Finally, without having to depend on their husbands for financial and emotional support, most women are less likely to tolerate bad behavior. In the past, women were more likely to ignore infidelity on the part of their husbands because divorce could be financially ruinous for them. No matter which partner wants to split, they may benefit from the help of a lawyer experienced in divorce legal issues that arise in a dispute such as spousal support, property division and child custody.
