RA, Is Money the Culprit in Most Divorces?

In this article By Liz Pulliam Weston entitled, "Money isn't the culprit in most divorces" http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/CollegeAndFamily/SuddenlySingle/MoneyIsntTheCulpritInMostDivorces.aspx, the author tries to persuade the reader to reevaluate the real causes of divorce, and put away the conventional thinking that all marital problems can be traced back to money. After all, there are as many happy poor couples as there are unhappy rich couples.

Ms. Weston is definitely a credible source. She is a graduate of the certified financial planner training program at the University of California, Irvine. She has also authored many books and writes a financial column for MSN Money.

She directs her remarks toward the general public who haven't taken a deeper look into the causes of divorce, but instead buy into the common thinking that it's all money related.

***STAR***

Sufficient: She does a good job of including enough data and findings and examples and history to make it a thourough article. She starts way back at World War II and explains where the root of money problems and divorce came from. She does a good job of relating that to what we now beleive.

Typical: Her sources are good sources but they are not typical to most people.

Accurate: I find her sources to be very accurate. She quotes experts and doesn't twist or bend what they said, but instead builds on their comments to clarify.

Relevant: I think this article is relevant mostly. She stuck to the point and did a good job of quoting the experts and reviewing the findings of her sources.

Overall Effectiveness: I felt that this was a fairly effective argument, but I'm still not convinced. All throughout the article, the experts she quoted seemed to hint that money really was a big factor, but that it also was, in many cases, used as a cover all excuse for divorce. I think the issues they brought up are big ones, such as the 'jerk' factor and incompatibility. However, I think that money problems, such as debt, cause just as much friction in marriage if not more. Debt is thing that grinds away at the resolve of the two spouses on a daily basis, just as the other factors do. Overall, she had great points, but I think in the end she downplays the seriousness of money problems that lead to divorce.