As a stay-at-home mom, you’ve devoted much of your life to raising your children and taking care of the household. While that can be rewarding and is certainly admirable, it can leave you feeling uneasy when your marriage heads for divorce.
You can quickly find yourself worrying about how you’re going to survive financially and who is going to get custody of your children, which are both legitimate concerns that you need to be prepared to address.
How a stay-at-home mom can position herself for a successful divorce
Preparation is key if marriage dissolution is on the horizon. Here are some steps that you can take to protect your interests and increase your chances of landing on firm footing once your divorce is finalized:
- Develop and establish your own lines of credit.
- Open your own individually held bank account.
- Gather records pertaining to your spouse’s income.
- Make a list of all the sacrifices that you’ve made during your marriage.
- Define what your marital standard of living has been like.
- Educate yourself on the law so that you’re not afraid of the process.
- Plan out how to tell your children about the divorce.
- Articulate how your parenting abilities support your children’s best interests.
- Think about how the skills you utilize at home make you marketable in the workplace.
- Avoid rushing into divorce decisions simply because you want to get the process over with as quickly as possible.
- Gather evidence that shows how your spouse is at fault for the divorce, if that is in fact the case.
We know you have a lot on your mind if you’re a stay-at-home mom thinking about divorce. But you can and will get through this. You’re strong and resilient, and you can craft a legal strategy that protects what’s most important to you. Be prepared to advocate for fair property division, spousal support, child custody, and child support. If that’s something you need assistance with, then be sure to seek out any help that you may need.