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Same Sex Couples Count for the 2020 Census

Same Sex Couples To Be Tracked In 2020 United States Census

As of 2020, same sex couples will be officially tracked by the United States Census. For the record, same-sex marriage is legal in 19 states and in the District of Columbia. North Dakota has banned it. According to a Pew Research Report, this is the first time the United States Census Bureau will ask specifically for same-sex couples to identify themselves. Other questions on the form include age, sex, Hispanic origin, race, relationship status, homeownership status, and citizenship.

Rather than the usual under-representation faced by the LGBTQ+ community, same sex couples have apparently been over-counted by the Census Bureau. In past counts, the Bureau established the number of same sex couples by combining answers from the question regarding the respondent’s sex, and the question as to whether they had a husband, wife, unmarried partner, or no partner. The Census Bureau then combined those answers and determined whether a couple was considered same-sex or not. However, research into the 2010 census showed that the majority of same sex couples in the 2010 census were recorded as opposite sex couples in Social Security files. Additionally, 2020 will avoid a miscount by … Read More... “Same Sex Couples Count for the 2020 Census”

Blast From The Past: The New Economics of Marriage: More Men Marrying Wealthier Women

Blast from the past 13 years Ohio Family Law Blog

PUBLISHERS NOTE: “This post and my comments from 2010 were dead on! Society has seemingly accepted this household incomes reversal perhaps due more to gender equality acceptance. Not shocking, but women are no happier now paying alimony than men were back in the 1980’s.”

Modern Household Incomes: More Men Marrying Wealthier Women

In a recent analysis of census data, the Pew Research Center found that the institution of marriage has undergone significant changes in recent decades as women have outpaced men in education and earnings growth. The study examined American’s 30 to 44 years old, a stage of life when typical adults have completed their education, have gone to work and gotten married. “Men now are increasingly likely to marry wives with more education and income than they have, and the reverse is true for women,” said Paul Fucito, spokesman for the Pew Center. “In recent decades, with the rise of well-paid working wives, the economic gains of marriage have been a greater benefit for men.” Clearly, these unequal gains have been accompanied by gender role reversals in both the spousal characteristics and the economic benefits of marriage.

I personally enjoy reviewing statistics. For those that don’t, be sure at … Read More... “Blast From The Past: The New Economics of Marriage: More Men Marrying Wealthier Women”

Domestic Violence – Let’s Look at the Local Statistics!

Domestic Violence – No More Silence

The number of reported domestic violence cases has dramatically increased over the years since the domestic violence statute went into effect in Ohio in 1978. These numbers shocked me, even as a Dayton divorce lawyer who entered the practice back in 1978.

Chief Montgomery County Magistrate Keith Hall recently reported the following:

In 1978 there were 35 Civil Domestic Violence Filings
In 1979 there were 50 Civil Domestic Violence Filings
In 2016 there were 1,400 Civil Domestic Violence Filings
In 2017 there were 1,710 Civil Domestic Violence Filings

Believe it or not, this number of Civil Domestic Violence Filings in 2017 EXCEEDED the total number of divorces and dissolutions combined that year!

To try to help put this in context, I interviewed Jane Keiffer, MSW, LISW, the Executive Director of the Artemis Center in Dayton. Ms. Keiffer explained that she did not interpret these numbers to mean necessarily that MORE domestic violence was occurring, but that there was much more awareness in our society. She told me that in addition the #metoo movement “has allowed individuals to speak up when they have been afraid and has given some the courage to acknowledge what they … Read More... “Domestic Violence – Let’s Look at the Local Statistics!”

Blast From The Past: Fathers are Indeed Important!

PUBLISHER’S UPDATE – Blog Originally Published on January 16, 2010: It is time for another “BLAST FROM THE PAST!” After Court recently, my client thanked me and reminded me about writing this Blog about his case seven and a half years ago. I was once again representing this father in the same rural Ohio Juvenile Court. The child is now 13+ and about to start the 8th grade but really wanted to move out of Ohio to live primarily with Dad and his family and attend school in North Carolina. Dad’s perseverance once again paid off! After a very strong guardians report, the parties agreed to a 1 year trial period for their child to move to the Tar Heel State. This child is indeed blessed to have 2 excellent, loving, and caring parents willing to try to do what is in the child’s best interest! Good parenting by Dad and all his love and his fortitude did once again pay off!

A large body of research overwhelmingly suggests children do best when they have both a mother and a father involved in their lives. Specifically, children whose fathers participate in raising them do better in school, are less likely … Read More... “Blast From The Past: Fathers are Indeed Important!”

Divorce Regrets For Couples Likely Says Study

Recent Study Say Couples Experience Increased Unhappiness In Their Second Marriage, Have Regrets Over Divorce

divorce regrets study Recently there has been some publicity of individuals expressing their regrets regarding obtaining their divorce. A completely anonymous website, known as http://www.secretregrets.com/, allows individuals who have gone through divorce or separation to express their regrets. This website led to a bestselling book series called “Secret Regrets”. These expressions of regret occur too often in the divorced world as a recent Utah State University article discusses.

The study examines life after divorce explaining that, frequently, a divorce is just the beginning and what comes next is the hard part: conflicting relations with your ex-spouse; troubles with maintaining normal lives for the children; and a general feeling of unhappiness. The study even indicates that compared to married individuals, divorced couples experience more unhappiness, higher psychological stress, low self-image, and felt even more alone.

Divorce is certainly not a cure-all to your relationship problems. Divorce can trade one bad problem for another. No longer do you have to fight over money issues within the household, but now you’re fighting over child support payments or alimony. Also, divorce is just the legal ending of your marriage, … Read More... “Divorce Regrets For Couples Likely Says Study”

Cohabitation: The Greatest Threat to Your Children’s Future

cohabitation_greatest_threat _childrens_future.jpg Think about this statement: “The rise of cohabitating households with children (where parents aren’t married, just living together) is the largest unrecognized threat to the quality and stability of children’s lives in today’s families.” That’s pretty strong stuff, but it’s exactly what a new research study concludes. While divorce has been the leading cause of the breakdown of the family and marriage for the last 40 years, the study shows that divorce is no longer the leading cause. The study shows that cohabitation is now the greatest threat to the welfare of children in the United States!

The August 2011 study was sponsored by the Center on Children and Families at Brookings and is entitled “The Marginalization of Marriage in Middle America”. It was written jointly by two family scholars, one a conservative (W. Bradford Wilcox, director of the National Marriage Project) and one a liberal (Andrew J. Cherlin, professor at John Hopkins University).

The study found the following: in affluent neighborhoods where many college-educated Americans live, marriage is alive and well and divorce has declined to levels not seen since the “divorce revolution” of the 1960’s. In contrast, marriage and family stability have both been in decline in the … Read More... “Cohabitation: The Greatest Threat to Your Children’s Future”

“Intextication”…The Dangers of Texting and Driving!

Driving these days can be very challenging. In addition, technological advances provide their own distractions, leaving drivers trying to split their attention between the road and the gadgets. Many experts believe that driving while texting, or “intextication”, is worse than driving drunk. In fact, studies show that 97.5% of people cannot drive safely while using cell phones. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics show that roughly 16 people are killed every day in auto accidents involving a distracted driver, with over 1,300 more injured. In 2008, almost 6,000 people were killed and a half million more were injured by distracted drivers. It was a surprise to me to read a study this month that showed the American teenagers on average send 115 text messages per day. It is no wonder that authorities claim that the significant increases in texting volumes have resulted in thousands of additional road fatalities in the United States!

Thirty (30) states, including D.C. and Guam, ban text messaging while driving. Within the next few years, more and more states will enact laws banning “texting” when driving. While many cities in Ohio (including Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo) have banned texting while driving, the State has … Read More... ““Intextication”…The Dangers of Texting and Driving!”

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