PIERRE — A slowed economy and market troubles haven’t affected only businesses, they’re also starting to cause problems in one of the nation’s oldest institutions — marriage.

Financial woes can be stressing on a relationship.

Twenty-two percent of women polled in a recent national survey by GFK Roper said money problems were to blame for their divorce. Of the men interviewed in the same poll, 23 percent cited financial reasons for their marital split.

Advertisement

Each year there are approximately 2.2 million marriages in the United States, according to the National Center for Health Statistics. Up to 1.4 million of those end in divorce.

In addition to job cutbacks and the downturn in the economy, the sub-prime mortgage crisis has also caused increased relationship tension for many Americans. In Ocala, Fla., for example, recent foreclosure issues have caused an increase in divorces, according to a Florida real-estate agent who has seen five divorce-related listings in the past three months as a result of mortgage payment pressure.

“Faced with pressure, these couples are blaming one another,” the agent, Scott Daniels, wrote in his blog earlier this year. “Rather than attempt to work together to resolve the problem, they find it easier to separate.”

Divorce is one of the reasons there are so many foreclosures on the market today, according to a recent Divorce360 interview with Sacremento, Calif., divorce and foreclosure specialist Elizabeth Weintraub. Without two salaries, many people can’t afford their mortgages.

Local family law attorney Rose Ann Wendell said she hasn’t seen an increased trend in divorces, but financial issues have traditionally been a leading cause of marital splits.

“Finances play a large role. It’s a major cause of stress in marriages,” Wendell said. “That stress is one of the things that leads to divorce.”

Wendell said the amount of debt couples have is usually an indicator of the number of problems they have.

Unfortunately, a few years ago, interest rates were relatively low and many married couples refinanced their homes. It can actually cost couples money to sell their homes because the houses don’t have equity and were recently refinanced. In the struggling economy it can also take a long time to sell the house or the couple may not get their asking price, Wendell said.

If a couple is looking to sell a home, Weintraub warned not to advertise a divorce to the real estate agent.

“If real estate agents pick up on that fact, their clients will offer less for your home.” She said.

To prevent going into foreclosure because of a divorce, couples have some options, according to New York real estate specialist Barbara Corcoran.

Couples should try to negotiate with their banks for a better deal on their mortgage or negotiate a lower variable mortgage rate, she said. They can also consider renting their house.