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The Economic Cost of Divorce

Now here is one more reason to avoid divorce at all costs, literally. Getting divorced may affect your net worth immediately and put you far behind financially from that point and going forward for years to come.

Many divorce lawyers say that they are seeing fewer divorces during this recession, and that an economic downturn typically results in fewer divorces. While financial issues may be putting extra stress on marriages, the reality is that many people can’t afford to divorce or are choosing to postpone or cancel divorce because it could lead to economic hardship.

So what are the expenses involved with a divorce? Here you go with a general guide to two of the biggest expenses in a divorce.

Attorney Fees and Court Costs

The biggest chunk of money that you will spend during a divorce is on the attorney fees and court costs. When it comes to these costs, the simple and more amicable the better. Even a simple divorce can cost between $5,000 and $25,000. For more complex divorces with child custody and other issues, expect to pay up to $100,000. Fighting and arguing over assets for months can increase the costs to well over $400,000.

Setting up the Second Household

The next chunk of money will go toward setting up a second household, since odds are good that a divorced couple will no longer want to live in the same household. You may have two mortgages or at least a mortgage and a rental fee, a second set of utilities, possible increase in child care if one spouse now goes back to work, or child support and alimony, health insurance, etc. It is hard to put a number on a second household because this will depend on what you need and where you live, but roughly doubling your current household expenses may give you an accurate enough cost.

Think you could avoid the second household by having one spouse stay with family or friends? If you have children, you will need to provide two real homes for them.

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, creating a home in the Home Blog, caring for little ones in the Baby Blog and now relationships in the Marriage Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.

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Marriage and Household Roles

The Gift of Unconditional Acceptance

For a Good Marriage, Avoid the Story Telling

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About Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer, online content manager, wife and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania in the middle of the woods but close enough to Target and Home Depot. The author of many magazine, newspaper and online articles, Mary Ann enjoys writing about almost any subject. "Writing gives me the opportunity to both learn interesting information, and to interact with wonderful people." Mary Ann has written more than 5,000 blogs for Families.com since she started back in December 2006. Contact her at maromans AT verizon.net or visit her personal blog http://homeinawoods.wordpress.com