By Alice Collinsworth The Edmond Sun EDMOND — This is the first of a three-part series exploring the problem of Oklahoma’s high divorce rate in Oklahoma and its effect on our state’s residents. Part two on Monday will highlight the generational impact of divorce; part three on Tuesday outlines one woman’s plan to help families avoid the financial pitfalls of divorce. The state of marriage in Oklahoma is not well. It’s an accepted fact that about 50 percent of American marriages end in divorce; among the states, Oklahoma traditionally ranks high. It has become more difficult to compare state divorce statistics, said Kendy Cox, director of services for the Oklahoma Marriage Initiative, but in 1999, researchers ranked Oklahoma anywhere from No. 1 to No. 5 on the list of failed marriages. “Based on everything I’ve read and seen and researched, Oklahoma does rank right up there in the number of divorces,” said Oklahoma County Court Clerk Patricia Presley. At the same time, applications for marriage licenses are on a decline during the past two decades. In Oklahoma County, 6,309 applications were made in 2006. The year 2005 was the lowest since 1987, with 6,288. Read more...

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