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When it comes to a divorce, everyone faces a significant amount of uncertainty about their future.  People worry about how it will effect the kids, how it will effect their finances and where they will be able to live among many other concerns.  It becomes even more difficult for people to make the decision to file for divorce in times of economic or political uncertainty.  Frankly, if you are considering a divorce, you should meet with an attorney to discuss the issues regardless of the economy or the current political climate.

Why Should I File For Divorce Now Rather Than Wait?

There is a proverb that in modern terms translates to "When you realize you are on the wrong train, you should get off at the first available exit".  This saying applies to divorce for many reasons.  First, life is short, I have been practicing family law since 1996 and have come to the realization that once someone is considering filing for divorce, in most cases, the relationship is already over.  My personal experience with clients is that counseling does not typically work and only prolongs the agony of the marriage.  You do not want to be the person that comes into the divorce lawyer's office and say you knew you should have filed for divorce fifteen years ago, but you did not and you cannot get those years back.

Some people worry that getting a divorce will have a negative impact on the children.  While this may be true in the short-term, most children are resilient and will recover from any emotional strain that they experience due to the divorce.  On the other hand, their prolonged first-hand exposure to a tense environment between the adults or worse yet, constant arguing, bickering and petty behavior between their parents can cause serious long-term damage.  If you think that keeping the family together is for the benefit of the children, in most cases that is just not true, keeping a dysfunctional family unit together will cause more damage to you and the children and possibly your relationship with the children.

Finally, waiting for the economic conditions to change does not make sense in most cases.  When getting divorced, you are dividing assets of equal value and calculating support based on current employment, so in some respects the effect of the economy on assets and income is already accounted for in these calculations.  Further, one never really knows where the economy is going and even in times of prosperity, lean times may wait just around the corner.  Trying to time the economy is just not feasible.  The longer you stay married, the longer you will be responsible for the other spouse's debts; and any earnings retained, assets purchased or gains in existing assets will have to be divided equally with the other spouse.

The one exception to this would be if you have a spouse that is currently unemployed but you expect will obtain employment soon.  Without going into a lot of detail and nuances of divorce law, it is sufficient to say that this could have a significant impact on any alimony claims made in the case.  At the very least it will most likely mean that the issue of alimony will have to be revisited again after the divorce when they do obtain employment (if they have did not get a new job during the divorce process).  While income may be imputed to a spouse that has an unexercised ability to earn income so that the alimony might be able to be determined without revisiting the issues later, it is just much more simple to handle many of these issues when both parties are fully employed.

If you have questions concerning divorce or family law, please do not hesitate to contact us by clicking on this link or calling (248) 608-4123 and scheduling a consultation to discuss your particular concerns.