We know well that money plays a role in divorce. Many studies have looked at financial stress in marriages and how it can lead to the end of those marriages.
This gives rise to the idea that a high asset divorce would never have to do with money. After all, the wealthy do not often have the same stresses over not being able to pay the bills or not being able to afford health care. They don’t worry about not being able to make ends meet or wonder where their next paycheck is going to come from.
However, studies have found that money can still play a massive role in many ways, no matter how much you have. One of the ways that it does so is through gender roles.
Traditionally, men have often been viewed as the main breadwinners and women have been more involved with the house and rearing the kids. Modern society has seen a shift in that perspective, however. Responsibilities are far more equally divided between spouses. It’s no longer an anomaly for men to be the caregivers for the kids and women occupy the workplace in greater numbers than ever.
Unfortunately, it does not appear that everyone is happy with that. One study found that the odds of divorce start going up when women start to make as much money as their male spouses — or earn even more. It does not matter how much money you have. If your marriage cannot survive these changes in gender roles, that can still lead to a divorce.
If you do end up heading in this direction, you need to know how to divide your assets and what other steps to take.