Financially Surviving Divorce

People can try to think of the day when the bread winner of the family may die or be thrown out of job, they can think of measures to be taken in case of physical impediments, accidents, or terminal diseases.

Planning for divorce is one thing that no sane person does. One cannot insure against it, nor claim a special ‘divorce policy’ in the way we put in our medical claims. The problem with divorce is that it concerns a voluntary change in situation that is supposedly opted by us.

How Does Divorce Affect Both Spouses?

Both spouses usually experience financial problems irrespective of gender. Noted below are some of the ways in which this may happen.

If they suddenly come into property, i.e. gain by divorce, things may not be as sunny as it seems. With greater property and assets come greater taxes, higher maintenance costs and the tendency to blow off all the wealth at a go and be in a greater mess than before.

Silly as it may sound, some partners spend the other’s funds out of spite. This has been a major problem with one partner trying to finish off the limits of joint credit cards by shopping out of sheer vengeance. It seems that this is more common with women. For men, the spending spree usually takes the form of a trip abroad and they come back with the funds as depleted as possible.

Many women give up jobs to raise a family. It becomes difficult for them to start earning again.

Maintenance has two sides to the story always. Usually the husband claims that he cannot pay the amount being demanded of him as it is unfair and not consummate with either his earning or the wife’s contribution. The wife has to chase an errant husband who has failed to pay the maintenance in time and left her stranded with the child.

Housing in Britain has changed in pattern due to the high rate of divorce. This is no overstatement. Most divorcees who have to leave the family house go for rented accommodation as the real estate prices are too high to be afforded. This has also increased rental rates and the dependency on home loans.

Issues and Challenges

Out of these problems come the multiple issues and challenges that the spouses have to face. Some such challenges are being mentioned below:

One of the primary challenges is managing the expenses where children are concerned. Each parent is morally bound to protect, nurture and educate children in the best possible way till they are adults. That is why we give birth to the next generation, and since we have brought them to the world, we are solely responsible for their existence. A divorce should not become the cause of child poverty, but at present, it overwhelmingly is so.

Educating a child is really difficult and letting a young adult bow down under the pressure of loans even before his or her career can begin is the worst outcome of parental divorce.

If the children are very young, then adequate day care provisions have to be made for them or a nanny has to be hired. Either way, it means more expense for the lone parent.

We have already discussed the challenges posed by housing and job hunting. Added to that quite often is the problem of transport as the family car may have to be sold or only one partner may be its sole owner now.

How to Minimise the Impact

The only way to deal with the situation is to start preparing at the slightest whiff of a separation.

Look for a job and alternative housing. Be practical, you cannot have the best bargain to begin with. If there has been a discontinuity in your career, try to look at work from home, freelancing, desktop business and other home-based work options.

Arrange for housing, childcare, schooling etc., before you move. Do not forget to look for the nearest departmental store, doctor, entertainment and shopping area and convenience of commuting before you move out.

If you are going to avail public transport for sometime now, look for an apartment accordingly. Meanwhile, you may also consider the resale car market.

Ensure that you have all the maintenance, tax, inheritance, pensions, banking and investment details cleared out between the two of you before you part.

About the Author

James Walsh is a freelance writer and copy editor. If you would like more information on how to get a quickie Divorce see http://www.quickie-divorce.com