Divorce Can Be So Nasty to Your Finances

Filed in archive Marriage and Finance on August 21, 2007

I know a couple who have just decided to divorce, and man do I feel sorry for them. Having your marriage fail is a punch to the gut, especially with kids in the mix. But where I really feel sorry for them is the money.

The longer you're married, the more stuff you gather, and the more there is to Divide up should you divorce. Even if your divorce is amicable and you're willing to work together to sort it out, there's a lot to deal with. (If your divorce is not amicable, heaven help you.)

Think about it. You probably have a home or condo, you probably have retirement funds, you probably have vehicles. The house may need to be sold, the cars hopefully can be divided up without too much pain, but the retirement accounts will be a royal pain. Even though your 401(k) or IRA is in your name, it's not really only yours if you are married. Come divorce time, you have to divide up those babies or come up with some agreement on compensating the person with the smaller share in their name. Dealing with all of the questions and the paperwork is a nightmare, and lots of hours of work, which is why people become divorce attorneys.

If there are kids, you have to deal with child support. And alimony may be necessary, too.

Remember, this is if your divorce is friendly. If it's unfriendly, you might have your spouse use your credit cards to run up a big tab in your name and kill your credit rating before the divorce is final or other ugly incidences which have to be worked out.

The moral of this story? Don't get divorced. (Or maybe don't get married. You choose.)