Divorce Advice for Stay-at-Home Moms

September 27, 2019August 13, 2020
by Angie

If you’re a stay-at-home mom who’s facing divorce, you probably have a lot of questions. While most of them can be solved during a consultation with a Stockton divorce attorney, here’s a quick peek at a little divorce advice for stay-at-home moms.

Divorce Advice for Stay-at-Home Moms

Being a stay-at-home mom is wonderful – but it can be incredibly scary when you choose to (or when your spouse files for) divorce. When you don’t have your own source of income, or when you’re not sure what the job market holds for you, it can all seem overwhelming. However, you can follow these five tips to help make things easier on yourself:

Gather financial documents.
Find out what your assets are worth.
Get familiar with your credit score.
Plan to return to work.
Think about asking for alimony.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these so you can be as prepared as possible.

#1. Gather financial documents.

Pull together all the financial documents you have. One of the best pieces of divorce advice for stay-at-home moms is to keep records of everything – including things like:

Pay stubs
Loan and mortgage documents
Insurance policies
Bank statements
Investment account statements
W2s from previous years
Tax returns from previous years

When you have as many financial documents as you can get, keep them all organized in a folder. Later, if you choose to ask the court for alimony, you may need to provide proof of your family’s income – and your spouse may not be as truthful as you will.

#2. Find out what your assets are worth.

Maybe you want to continue living in your marital home after the divorce. That’s fine, but no matter what you intend to do, you need to find out how much it’s worth. That’s because divorce is financially tough on many couples – and you may not be able to keep it. It’s often a good idea to get the house appraised before your divorce so you know how much it’ll be worth if you have to sell it, and so you can prepare to divide the cash or come up with the remainder of what you owe.

If you have other assets, you should also find out what they’re worth.

#3. Get familiar with your credit score.

Use a site like CreditKarma to keep up with your credit score. You may need to apply for credit during or after your divorce, and the better your score is, the more likely you are to get favorable rates and terms. If there are things you need to fix on your credit report, now is the time to do it.

#4. Plan to return to work.

Another great piece of divorce advice for stay-at-home moms is to start planning to return to work. While a judge may award you alimony (commonly called spousal support), it’s not likely to last forever – and even if it would last forever, it may not be enough to support yourself in the lifestyle you want. A lot of stay-at-home moms end up going back to work during or after divorce, and you may be one of them. Brush up your resume and start looking at jobs that are available – and remember, even if they’re outside your field, they’re still worth considering when you really need to work.

#5. Think about asking for alimony.

You don’t have to ask the court for alimony, but your Stockton divorce attorney might suggest that you do. If the judge sees that you’ve been out of the workforce for a significant amount of time, and that you’re unlikely to be able to return to work right away because you need to get current on your skills, he or she may order your spouse to pay alimony. There are never any guarantees on how a judge will rule, but if you can show a need, the judge in your case may agree that you need – and deserve – spousal support.

Are You a Stay-at-Home Mom Considering Divorce?

If you’re thinking about divorce, or if your spouse has already filed, we may be able to help you. We’ll give you more specific divorce advice for stay-at-home moms, plus case-specific advice that helps you in your unique situation.

Call us right away at (209) 546-6870 or get in touch with a Stockton divorce attorney online to schedule a consultation today.

Divorce

How to Deal With Your Co-Workers During Divorce

September 17, 2019August 13, 2020
by Angie

If you’re like most people going through divorce, you have a lot of company at work – and you know that people like to have water-cooler chats about each other fairly frequently. When you’re the person who’s going through a divorce, you’re going to be a hot topic at work. Here’s how to deal with your co-workers during divorce so you can maintain your sanity (and keep your job).

How to Deal With Your Co-Workers During Divorce

First things first: You should always keep the details of your divorce to yourself, especially at work. Even if your spouse doesn’t know any of the people you work with (which is a great reason to keep quiet in itself), you don’t want to cause yourself any grief now or in the future. Avoid talking about your divorce at work, and if possible, avoid telling many people – keep your personal business confined to your “circle of trust.”

With that said, once your co-workers find out you’re divorcing, you’re likely to be the subject of at least a few conversations… and some people may even approach you and ask you about it directly. Here’s what you can do:

Be open and honest
Maintain a good group dynamic
Keep your family separate from your work

Let’s take a closer look at each of these so you can save yourself a big headache later.

#1. How to Deal With Your Co-Workers During Divorce: Be open and honest.

If people ask you direct questions, it’s okay to be open and honest about what you’re dealing with. However, always avoid:

Bad-mouthing your spouse
Complaining about the process
Discussing what you view as unfair about your divorce
Sharing grisly details with your co-workers

Treat your own situation like you’d treat another person’s major life transition: Keep details to a minimum, but provide truthful answers when you can. (If someone asks you if you’re divorcing because your spouse cheated on you or otherwise gets too personal, politely tell them that you don’t want to discuss the details and you’d appreciate if they’d respect your boundaries. Try to be polite, anyway – we know how it is.)

#2. How to Deal With Your Co-Workers During Divorce: Maintain a good group dynamic.

Every workplace has some kind of group dynamic. You and your co-workers interact every day, so remain committed to your job… even when it’s incredibly tough to focus on your work, you have to miss time because you have to appear in court or meet with your attorney, or you don’t have a sitter for your kids.

There are two reasons you absolutely must do this. One is that when you show everyone you’re still operating normally, and that your current situation isn’t impacting your job performance, people will lose interest in your personal life. The second reason is that even though many employers will realize you’re going through a tough time and provide you with certain accommodations, it’s important to show that you can still perform under pressure – and you’ll be able to keep your job.

If gossip spins out of control, or if you’re experiencing some kind of harassment due to your divorce, you absolutely must talk to a supervisor or your company’s Human Resources department to nip the problem in the bud.

#3. How to Deal With Your Co-Workers During Divorce: Keep your family separate from your work.

Don’t involve your children with people from work until you’ve gotten everything straightened out with their other parent. Naturally, if you have work friends that you see outside work regularly, you should still spend time together – but don’t bring your kids to work functions or worse, take them to work with you when people are still apt to talk about your personal life. You may be unpleasantly surprised at what they’ll hear.

Are You Considering Divorce?

If you’d like to discuss your options and learn about how divorce might be one of them, call us at (209) 989-4425 or get in touch with us online to talk to a lawyer who can help today. We’ll help you with every question you have about divorce, from child custody and child support to alimony and property division.

Tag: <span>Work</span>

Divorce Advice for Stay-at-Home Moms

Divorce Advice for Stay-at-Home Moms

#1. Gather financial documents.

#2. Find out what your assets are worth.

#3. Get familiar with your credit score.

#4. Plan to return to work.

#5. Think about asking for alimony.

Are You a Stay-at-Home Mom Considering Divorce?

How to Deal With Your Co-Workers During Divorce

How to Deal With Your Co-Workers During Divorce

#1. How to Deal With Your Co-Workers During Divorce: Be open and honest.

#2. How to Deal With Your Co-Workers During Divorce: Maintain a good group dynamic.

#3. How to Deal With Your Co-Workers During Divorce: Keep your family separate from your work.

Are You Considering Divorce?