Blog
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Marriage and divorce rates in the EU – new studies
Author: Watts McCray Comments: 0
The European Union’s official statistical office, Eurostat, recently published a Special Supplement on Demographic Trends study, which analyses recent and historical trends in the EU in relation to fertility, migration, population changes, marriages and divorce. Some of the overall trends cited by the report include a decline in the number of marriages, more divorces, and more children being born outside of marriage. Marriage rates in the EU have decreased continuously over the last two decades, from 6.3 marriages per 1000 people in 1990, to 5.2 in 2000. In 2010, the marriage rate per 1000 people had dropped to 4.4. At [...]
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Marriage and Divorce – World Records
Author: Watts McCray Comments: 0
Divorce is a serious matter, and not something to be taken lightly. But every so often, we hear or read stories of absurdly huge divorce settlements paid out by some of the world’s most wealthy figures, stories of people being married or divorced literally dozens of times, and statistics on which countries have the highest marriage and divorce rates per capita. For this week’s blog post, we’ve compiled a list of the strangest statistics and world records related to marriage and divorce around the world. The most-married woman World Record holder The person who holds the world record for being [...]
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More Watts McCray Kernans Family Law Seminars
We promised you there’d be more, and we have delivered. Watts McCray Kernans will hold 3 more family law seminars on the following dates: Thursday 16 May 2013 -12:30pm- 1:30pm Thursday 23 May 2013 -12:30pm- 1:30pm Thursday 30 May 2013 – 12:30pm- 1:30pm Kate O’Grady, our resident Accredited Specialist – Family Law, will present the FREE seminars on these dates. The seminars will cover the following topics: Marriage/De Facto separation Divorce Parenting arrangements Child Support Property settlement Spousal maintenance Other important issues to consider when separating RSVPs for these events are essential. Please contact Claire Laurent at our Central Coast [...]
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I do, but do we? Australian attitudes towards marriage
Author: Watts McCray Comments: 0
Australians are keen to find a life partner, but when it comes down to marriage, different generations have very different attitudes. A new survey conducted by RSVP Date of the Nation shows that just 41 per cent of singles want to get married; however, Generation Y singles are keener to say “I do” than the older generations. 67 per cent of Gen Y said they want to get married; this was almost double that of Gen X – only 39 per cent of respondents said they wanted to tie the knot. Only 12 per cent of Baby Boomers said they [...]
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NSW Parliament passes motion in favour of gay marriage
Author: Watts McCray Comments: 1
Last month, US President Barack Obama formally voiced his support for same-sex marriage. Since then, the topic has been heavily debated in media headlines, political forums and very discussed at pubs and around dining tables. Most recently, the NSW Parliament has had Greens MP Cate Faehrmann bring forth a motion calling on the federal government to legalise same sex marriage; this motion was passed with a vote of 22 to 16 in favour on 31 May. State Parliaments in Tasmania, the ACT and now NSW have all passed motions calling for the Federal Government to amend the Marriage Act allowing [...]
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Two Gay Marriage Bills Put Before Parliament
Author: Watts McCray Comments: 0
Two private members’ bills to legalise gay marriage were introduced to Federal Parliament earlier this month. The bills follow the ALP National Conference in November 2011, where the results of a conscience vote amended the Labor party’s stance on gay marriage to be one of support. At the conference, Labor MP Stephen Jones had indicated that he would introduce a private member’s bill to legalise gay marriage during 2012. Jones submitted his bill today, but in a historical move for gay rights movement, Greens MP Adam Bandt and Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie also submitted a bill aimed to legalise same-sex [...]
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Mexico considers introducing 2-year marriage license
Author: Watts McCray Comments: 0
In response to increasing divorce rates, leftist politicians in Mexico have proposed a new marriage license that would allow couples to dissolve their marriage after two years, without having to go through the regular divorce process. Essentially a 2-year trial marriage, the proposed new license would give couples the opportunity to temporarily “test” married life. At the end of the 2 years, they would have the option to end the relationship or, if it has been a success, renew the license indefinitely. The premise of the new license is that the real marriage commitment is made after 2 years, when [...]
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Is a declining marriage rate to blame for the neglect of children?
Author: Watts McCray Comments: 0
A recent report by Professor Patrick Parkinson, a law professor at The University of Sydney and Special Counsel at Watts McCray Lawyers, says that plunging Australian marriage rates are having a detrimental effect on the wellbeing of Australian children. Titled “For Kids’ Sake – Repairing the Social Environment for Australian Children and Young People” and commissioned by the Australian Christian Lobby, the report was presented to Federal Parliament last week as part of National Child Protection Week. The research based report attributes increased rates of child abuse and neglect, children being placed in foster care and rising teenage mental health [...]
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Labor postpones same-sex marriage vote, but expresses support
Author: Watts McCray Comments: 1
It was expected to be on the agenda yesterday at Labor’s NSW branch conference, but the vote on whether to introduce same-sex marriage in Australia was postponed until Labor’s national conference in December. The move to refer it to December came as a result of the contrasting views on the issue from within left and right factions of the party. While the left was hoping for a positive outcome from yesterday’s conference, they are believed to have supported the move of general secretary Sam Dastyari’s to delay the vote after it became obvious that it was likely to be defeated. [...]
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Disappointing holidays lead to higher divorce rates, US finds
Author: Watts McCray Comments: 3
A number of holidays involve the celebration of family and loved ones. But when happy holidays are disappointing, it can show in divorce rates. Divorce occurs year round, but with the divorce rate skyrocketing (Australia’s sits at just under 50%), it’s interesting when clear patterns, stimulants or triggers for divorce are noticeable. While these particular findings come from the US, they still provide interesting insight into the societal and emotional prompters for the breakup of a marriage. Shortly before Valentine’s Day 2011, the American website Avvo.com – which offers free ratings and profiles for lawyers – compiled data that reveals [...]