Some marriages only last for a few short years, after which time each party is likely still able to become financially independent. On the other end of the spectrum, there are the couples that have been together for 20 plus years-couples that have raised children together, bought and sold property together, and even gone on joint business ventures together. This latter set of individuals are much more likely to be dependent on one another-especially if one individual was responsible for bringing home the money, and the other was responsible for raising the children and taking care of the home.

When a couple that has been together for a significant amount of time goes through a divorce, the judge is much more likely to consider the stay-at-home parent's sacrifices for the marriage and to assess the likelihood that he or she will find gainful employment post divorce. If the judge determines that there is no way the stay-at-home spouse will ever be truly self-sufficient, he or she is more likely to proceed with property division and alimony allocation differently than had the divorcing couple only been married for a short amount of time. After all, marriage is an economic partnership just as much as it is a romantic one, and without the sacrifices of one individual, the gains of the other would not have been possible.

How the Length of Your Marriage Affects Alimony

While divorce rates in the United States are on a small decline in the last decade, marriages still go south. What happens when your marriage ends before you even reach your five-year anniversary? It is estimated that 20% of marriages end in divorce before the couple reaches a half decade of being married.

Luckily, for marriages that end before the five-year mark, there is likely less to divide among the divorcees. Younger couples are less likely to worry about dividing property, money, and children. The '50% of all marriages end in divorce' statistic is bloated by those with second, third and sometimes even fourth marriages. In fact, that number is hardly accurate for first marriages.

While 20% of marriages end before five years, 32% end within 10 years, 40% end within 15 years and 48% end within 20 years. So while you are less likely to get divorced while you're still in your 'honeymoon phase,' you are not alone.