Divorce is common, and comes with many financial pitfalls.
See our archive of previous tips on your money, your taxes and your financial plan. The divorce rate in the United States peaked 20 years ago with a rate of 5.3 divorces or annulments for every 1,000 members of the population. The rate has steadily declined since then and stood at 4.3 divorces per every 1,000 people in 1997. Divorce affects more than 3 million husbands, wives and children every year. That's nearly the same number of people that are born annually.