Marriage can be one of the most beautiful institutions in the world until things take a turn for the worse and it’s anything but. Sure, we all know that couple in their 70s who’ve been happily together since high school, but that’s more the exception than the norm. These days approximately half of all first marriages crash and burn.
It’s a cold hard fact – marriage is a lot of work. It doesn’t matter if the couple is Ken and Barbie with movie star good looks, or if they are millionaires; any marriage can unravel at the seams if it’s not nurtured enough. Divorce takes a lot of work too, especially when there are minor children involved.
If you are on the brink of divorce and you’re steps away from filing the papers, there are some things we want you to know. We’re going to explain them because we don’t want you to go through the process only to think, “I wish someone told me that about divorce!”
- You may be exhilarated to finally live under a different roof than your spouse, but be forewarned, you could feel lonely. That’s normal.
- Your spouse is gone for good.
- You should not rush the process unless you are a victim of domestic violence. You don’t want to act before you think things through.
- Don’t see yourself as a failure. Your relationship expired, it does not reflect on you.
- If you have kids, you will have to deal with an in-law situation and you may not know how to continue a relationship with them.
- If you get sick, your spouse won’t be there to take care of you.
- If your children get sick, you won’t have someone to help you.
- If you hated discussing money with your spouse, you’re going to dislike discussing money with your former spouse even more.
- You may get jealous when your ex starts dating.
- You may not be comfortable with your ex’s new boyfriend or girlfriend being around your children. This could be very painful.
- The divorce may affect you physically. You may gain or lose weight depending on how stress affects your eating habits.
- If you’re a woman, you won’t know what to do with your wedding dress.
- You will have to figure out what to do with your wedding ring.
- You may want to ask your family to take your wedding photo down.
- You may want to get rid of all of the gifts your ex gave you over the years.
- You may lose some of your mutual friends who side with your ex.
- You may have the urge to confide in your ex because you’re so used to doing it, but you should break that pattern.
If you are looking for a San Diego divorce attorney, contact Claery & Hammond, LLP for a free case evaluation. To learn more about our attorney profiles, click here.