Wisconsin Sees an Increase in Divorce and Decrease in Marriage

According to the most recent statistics from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, the marriage rate was down and the divorce rate was up during 2008.

The DHS found that 31,444 marriages took place last year, which is down from the previous year by 715.  Wisconsin saw its highest marriage rate in 1980 with 41,113 marriages.

Meanwhile, there was an increase in the number of divorces.  Last year there were 16,885 divorces, which is slightly more than the number of divorces that occurred in 2007, which was 16,490. 

The highest number of both marriages and divorces were in Milwaukee, Dane, Waukesha, and Brown counties, which also happen to be the most populous counties in the state. Florence County had the fewest marriages with only 17, and Menominee County had the lowest number of divorces with just one.

State wide, divorces affected 16,490 children under the age of 18.

For more information about marriage and  divorce, please contact a divorce and family lawyer near you.