Press Releases

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Is it too easy to get married? Most Americans think so, according to a new poll by the legal Web site FindLaw (http://www.findlaw.com ), conducted just as President Bush is expected to call for a new program promoting marriage in his State of the Union address tonight.

An overwhelming majority of Americans, 57 percent, said it is too easy for people to get married. Thirty-nine percent disagreed. Three percent had no response. Women were more likely than men to say that it's too easy for people to get married -- 61 percent vs. 53 percent.Ê People with children were also more likely to agree with the statement than those without children.Ê Married people and unmarried people gave nearly identical responses.Ê The national survey of 1,000 adults was conducted January 16-18.

Britney Spears and President Bush have drawn considerable attention to the issue recently.

President Bush is promoting a $1.5 billion "healthy marriages" plan that would provide marriage counseling and training, particularly for low-income couples. The President hopes the initiative will encourage couples to marry, especially couples with children, and learn skills that will help them keep their marriages intact.

Britney Spears' January 5 marriage in Las Vegas, on the other hand, lasted 55 hours, prompting speculation it was possibly a prank or publicity stunt by the young singer. The annulment petition filed in Clark County Family Court stated that Spears "lacked understanding of her actions to the extent that she was incapable of agreeing to the marriage."

Several states have considered legislation that would require premarital counseling or waiting periods prior to obtaining a marriage license. Some legal experts contend that prenuptial agreements, somewhat paradoxically, may result in stronger marriages by forcing couples to agree on issues such as property rights and responsibilities before getting married.

Nationwide, 42 percent of marriages end in divorce or separation, according to a 2002 study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Center for Health Statistics. In addition, the study found that the rate of marriage has declined in recent years, while the rate of cohabitation by couples has increased.

FindLaw is the most-visited legal Web site, according to leading, independent Internet monitoring services, providing authoritative legal information, research tools and the largest online legal directory, with more than 1 million lawyers and legal professionals.

Notes: The national survey used a representative sample of 1,000 adults nationwide, with a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points, and was conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs.