The cost of obtaining a college degree in the United States has skyrocketed in recent years. Although some New York students may be able to keep their educational costs in check by electing to attend one of the state’s excellent public universities, others may choose to follow their hearts to the private schools and out-of-state institutions of their dreams. In the end, students may leave their college years with more than just new degrees: they may also have acquired significant student loans.
These loans can plague individuals for years, and a recent survey suggests that student loans may even be a relatively common cause of divorce. According to the survey, around one out of every eight individuals surveyed regarding the cause of their divorce claimed that their student loans brought their marriages to their ends.
It is not hard to understand why. Student loans are acquired by individuals when they are relatively young, often before they have even met the partners with whom they expect to spend the rest of their lives. They can endure for years and even decades, and, when they reach into the tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars, those burdens can put significant strains on the finances of fledgling marriages.
Generally, money matters are often noted as some of the most common causes of American divorces. Student loans, however, may stand out as a very specific financial cause of ending marriages. Whatever causes they may cite as bringing their relationships to their ends, New Yorkers who have questions about how to pursue a divorce are encouraged to discuss their options with family law attorneys that they know and trust.