Video: Sometimes Falling Out Of Love Happens

GOLDEN TRIANGLE, Miss. (WCBI) – The American Psychological Association reports that 40% to 50% of marriages end up in divorce.

Now, lawmakers are talking about marriage at the state capitol.

One bill that just cleared the state Senate would add domestic abuse to the list of grounds for divorce.

Right now, there are twelve grounds for divorce in Mississippi, ranging from adultery to irreconcilable differences.

Each divorce comes with it’s own story, emotions, and price tag.

Falling out of love. Sometimes, it just happens.

“We have two to three day trials of divorces. We have ID divorces just about every day. I signed one this morning in Starkville, those are the most that we sign. They keep records of that in Jackson, and every year we get a print out of how many orders we’ve signed, but I think for most people it would be a staggering number,” says Chancery Judge H.J. Davidson, JR. of the Fourteenth Chancery Court District.

Another staggering number could be the price tag attached to divorce, which is a lot higher than an order of a dozen roses.

Attorney Jeff Hosford says clients can control their divorce costs just as much as the attorney.

Depending on the case and the amount of paperwork, a marriage split can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars up to several thousand.

“That paperwork is the key to your life if you’re separating someone because at the end of the day, whatever is in that paperwork, is what you go by if you can’t agree and that’s why you pay somebody more money to make sure it’s got what you want in it.”

The money trail also follows after the divorce is finalized.

“Before, that was all in one household and it’s much easier to accommodate that when there’s two people paying those bills, so basically what you’ve done is for example, say the husband gets custody and he moves into a new house, and the wife has to pay child support, she not only has to pay all her bills, but she has to pay a percentage to her husband to take care of the children,” says Hosford.

On top of financial costs, there are emotional ones.

“You see fear. People are fearful of their future. They’re fearful of their financial future, their children. They’re fearful of losing the custody of their children, or at least having a diminishing role, you know, there’s a lot of anger obviously,” says Davidson.

Some splits aren’t contested, but for the ones that are, the same person who finalizes a divorce can also help start the healing process.

“Once that record is made, then we can pretty much take the appropriate action that’s necessary to try to help those people heal, particularly the children. We are the super guardians of the children and my colleagues and I emphasize that,” says Davidson.