Divorce: It’s not a cakewalk

Divorce: It’s not a cakewalk

On Behalf of | Sep 15, 2017 | divorce

Pennsylvania spouses considering divorce need to know a few things before they get started. First, divorce is normal. Approximately 40 to 50 percent of all marriages end in divorce in the United States according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Psychological Association. Second, divorce is never going to be “easy.”

According to divorce experts, even the friendliest divorce proceedings — which are often resolved through mediation or out-of-court settlement — will involve the five stages of grief that people go through after the death of a loved one. The death of a relationship can be just as difficult to handle as the death of a person. The five stages tend to go something like this: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally, acceptance.

However, the five stages of grief are not the only things divorcees have to contend with. They also have to navigate the division and separation of intermingled finances, jointly held property, pension plans, tax concerns, health insurance, choosing who keeps which friends, navigating relationships with extended family members and co-parenting concerns. Anyone who thinks that this process will be “easy” is in for a very rude awakening. Navigating your divorce will take patience and the ability to let go of many things you hold dear.

In order to make it through this difficult period — and protect their legal rights — divorcing spouses in Pennsylvania may want to get help from an experienced divorce lawyer. They can also try to view divorce positively, as a new beginning rather than as the end of a fairy tale, “ever-after” kind of true love romance.

Source: Bucks County Courier Times, “The modern divorce – amicable or acrimonious?,” Debra Wallace, Sep. 02, 2017