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"A study out of Ohio State University has found that long-term separation has become a chosen alternative for many couples who don&amp;#039;t have the money to divorce. Tell me about it. I could write the book on the subject! The study followed 7,272 people. Of the respondents, eighty percent who went through a marital separation ended up divorcing, and most did so within three years. Five percent attempted to reconcile, but fifteen percent of separations ended up stretching on for ten years or more without divorce or reconciliation. The majority of the couples in these long-term separations were racial and ethnic minorities with low family income, young children, and lower education levels. In other words, if your poor, it&amp;#039;s easier to just go your separate ways and not pay for a divorce. Dmitry Tumin, a co-author of the study puts it this way: &amp;quot;Separation may not be their first choice, but they may feel it is their best choice.&amp;quot; When the results of this study are compared to previous research, it revealed a trend. The number of people who choose separation seems to be declining, but the time spent in separation seems to be increasing. Researchers feel that tough economic times are likely to make that continue. I know if I won the lottery, I&amp;#039;d be filing those divorce papers the next day. The thought of this stretching on and on is just draining to me. It really, really is. I&amp;#039;m trying to move forward, but there&amp;#039;s only so far I can go until this is a done deal. I feel trapped. Good and trapped by my financial situation. Do you know anyone who went through a long-term separation? Was it for financial reasons? And what do you think the toll was on them personally? "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/relationships/dating-marriage/a47355/long-term-separation/>