Online Divorce After Pandemic: Is It the Easier Way Out?

COVID-19 has influenced many aspects of our life aspects. We still feel the consequences of the outbreak.

Social distancing has changed how we live, making us do many activities online instead of in person.

That’s how getting an online divorce became popular in the USA. It has simplified how married couples separate while saving them time and money.

But where does online divorce after pandemic stand? Does online divorce have a significant influence on the way people are separating?

Let’s find out.

The Pandemic Effects on Marriage

Some couples saw the COVID-19 pandemic as an opportunity for growth. The extra time together brought couples closer and helped build healthier marriages.

Unfortunately, there were many cases where the COVID-19 pandemic put an additional burden on relationships. They had to make many decisions that were not necessary in normal times.

From vaccinations to dealing with inflation and job losses, everyone had unknown challenges to deal with. Some couples found it difficult to agree on vaccinations; others couldn’t stand being in lockdown together.

To resolve the problems, they needed effective communication. With limited access to therapists, counseling, and friends to talk about their issues, some couples saw no other solution except to get divorced.

Furthermore, the pandemic caused financial strain, changes in daily routines, and health concerns. This meant increased stress and tension in marriages.

Divorce Statistics in the USA Before, During, and After the Pandemic

Many expected a drastic increase in divorces in the USA during the pandemic. Conversely, the official data from the National Center for Health Statistics shows only minor changes.

Before the pandemic, specifically in 2018, it was clear that the divorce rate in the USA was higher than in the last few years. The divorce rate per 1,000 in 2018 was 0.4 higher than in 2021, which is the latest data available.

The divorce rates for 2019 and 2020 were also lower than the ones in 2018, which counted 2.7 and 2.3, respectively. Statistically looking, the COVID pandemic didn’t significantly influence the divorce rates in the US.

However, these numbers don’t represent the whole picture. In reality, many cases were delayed because of the setbacks in the court system. Thus, the situation in many households wasn’t as good as the data shows.

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Ways COVID Influenced Divorce

The pandemic definitely changed the way we approach separation. The ways COVID made divorce harder contributed to online divorce being a preferable option during and after the pandemic.

Looking at the overall picture, COVID had positive and negative influences on the divorce process.

The negative impact of COVID on the divorce process

In America, separating couples faced many institutional problems during the pandemic. The restrictions made it harder for people to get a divorce.

The divorce system in the US struggled in many ways.

• Courts didn’t work for days, weeks, and even months.
• Online hearings had technical problems.
• Many hearings were delayed because there was a lack of on-site staff.
• Besides divorce cases, courts recorded increased motions for modification of alimony and child support.
• Attorneys had to find alternatives to meetings in person.

From the spouse’s perspective, it was harder for some to get a divorce during the pandemic due to financial uncertainty. Around 9.6 million Americans lost their jobs during the COVID pandemic, leaving them without funds to pay the hefty divorce price tag.

The positive impact of COVID on the divorce process

If the pandemic did something good regarding people’s relationships, it is that it simplified the divorce process. Although digital divorces have been available previously, many couples started turning to online divorce during the pandemic.

Before COVID-19 hit, couples had to follow strict procedures just to begin the divorce process. Divorce cases faced delays and increased expenses because each procedural problem came with the possibility of conflict between spouses.

Online divorce services makes the whole divorce process easier and provide the soon-to-be ex-partners with guidance for reaching a divorce settlement.

Another reason an online divorce is an appealing option is that it can be completed entirely from home. That was one of the most important things for couples during the periods of quarantine and lockdowns.

Nowadays, online divorce services are preferred because they are cheaper, faster, and easier than a traditional divorce with San Diego divorce attorneys.

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Is Online Divorce After Pandemic a Good Idea?

You should get an online divorce if you want to lower your costs, have a more peaceful divorce, and save time. 

In addition to the basic advantages of online divorce, the potential benefits are the following:

• Hassle-free solution.
• Bigger flexibility than traditional divorce.
• Paperwork prepared by professionals for you (available only with some online divorce service providers like BlissDivorce).

Can Divorce Be Entirely Digitized in the Future?

One of the positive things that happened during COVID was innovation in online divorce.

Before COVID, online divorce services were limited to preparing the paperwork for an agreement you had already reached. This could be helpful, but there were a lot of disadvantages:

• Before COVID online services could only handle simple divorce cases – If you had more than two cars and a checking account, things got kind of complicated for online divorce services. They could also handle things like the family home and simple child custody issues, but they weren’t very user friendly.
• You had to reach your own agreement – Traditionally online divorce services have not been able to help you resolve disagreements. And the problem is, most divorce cases have disagreements. Even if you’re getting along with your spouse you can have issues you need to work out. So in the past couples were forced to turn to attorneys to reach an agreement.
• Paperwork not right – Even though the traditional online divorce services provided digital guidance as you went through and filled out forms, it was possible to make mistakes. So forms would sometimes be returned from the court needing to be fixed.

During COVID people needed new ways to do things from home. So it’s not surprising that new online divorce services started to spring up with much better capabilities. These new sites provided additional services like:

• Zoom-based mediators to resolve disagreements
• Digital dispute mediation tools to work your disagreements online
• Child and spousal support calculators
• Documentation professionals to accurately prepare your paperwork once you reached a full agreement

Where online divorce used to be only for simple cases and people who were meticulous at doing forms right, now they can handle almost any case. So in the post-pandemic world, online divorce is a good option for almost anyone. Just be sure to pick the right service for you. If you have multiple asset types to divide, need a child custody agreement or spousal support or have disagreements to work out, you should choose a fully-capable site like BlissDivorce.