Courtesy of Bright Cherry Media
This map show where the happiest divorces happen
It’s generally assumed that once any couple has reached the stage where their marriage is to be legally dissolved, things have reached a low point. Recrimination, bitterness, anger and sadness are common when a long-term relationship ends. Happily, however, a divorce doesn’t always have to be acrimonious – many couples manage to part ways quite amicably; just look at the blissful ‘conscious uncoupling’ of Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin, or observe how Demi Moore and Bruce Willis holiday together with their new partners. There’s even a hot new trend for former husbands and wives to take ‘divorce selfies’ just after leaving court.
Analysis by online divorce form preparation service CompleteCase.com (who provide complete divorce documents) found which states have divorcing couples who are either more amicable, cordial, or, alas, downright disagreeable than each other. This was calculated by comparing couples in each state who declared online that they were in agreement with each other, against those who were not. So which states have the most amicable couples when it comes to parting ways and dividing up their assets?
The top of the list when it comes to an easy, amicable divorce is the beautiful state of Vermont, the research found. Completing divorce papers in the Green Mountain State, as well as other states from Oregon to Rhode Island (shown in green) can be a pretty painless process as couples are more likely to have an uncontested divorce. Couples in these states might even remain friends afterwards. The top five states for amicable divorces were: Vermont, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Oregon, and Kansas.
Things are likely to be pleasantly cordial in the mid-level states (shown in yellow); there might be a few conversations through gritted teeth, or a little bit of sniping back and forth, but generally divorcing couples in these states can politely get through it all without too many recriminations. Hawaii starts this list off at no. 11.
However, if you live in Alabama, you’re not likely to have a quick or easy divorce; relationships which break down here can be the most disagreeable in the country when starting the divorce process. From bitter disputes over who owns what, to raging arguments over alimony. Lawyers in the Yellowhammer state (and others show in red) stand to do rather well. The five states with the most disagreeable divorces, according to this report, starting from the worst are: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut and Nevada.
Interestingly, despite being Vermont’s neighbor, New Hampshire is among the states with the most disagreeable divorce rates coming in at 46th, sixth from the bottom.
