t's a new year, and it's going to be different; life will be different. And the first step in that is to tell your spouse you want a divorce (see some thoughts on how to do that before you blurt it out over New Year's Day leftovers).
In divorce, the life you knew it is falling apart. The natural reaction is to cling to what you know and salvage what you can. When everything you thought you knew about your life and your future is in pieces, it can be a struggle to make sense of the fragments that remain. It's typical to want to stay in the house and retain some appearance of normalcy. While it seems like you are providing stability by staying in the family home, think it through. It may be a very high-priced mistake.
As soon as you begin to contemplate divorce, the nauseating, panic-attack-inducing realization of losing half of your net worth kicks in, and you find yourself wondering if it's even worth it to consider leaving if you're going to end up broke and starving.
When you broach the topic of divorce, the words you speak will start shaping the rest of your life, how your marriage ends and how the divorce process unfolds. And they're probably going to be profoundly memorable. It's worth your time to make sure what you say is what you want to be remembered.
You set aside a comfortable retirement nest egg that calculated golden years spent together as one household. Now those same funds will have to support not one but two households. One study showed post-divorce single women’s income dropping by 45%, custodial parent's income dropping a whopping 52%. And with these declines, it’s highly unlikely expenses will drop to the same degree.
When you face a life-changing decision like divorce, what do you think you will find more valuable: Someone to make you feel better by saying that nothing has to change, or someone who will give it to you straight, no chaser?
