Out of all the reasons for divorce, financial difficulty and disagreements about money are the most common. As a fundamental necessity of life, money is a common concern for spouses. If there’s a lack of financial security, or serious disagreements about how to save and spend money, it could be enough to bring any marriage to an end – no matter how much love the couple has for one another.
Here are several ways that money issues can cause a divorce:
One spouse isn’t earning his or her keep: It’s one thing for a spouse to have a low-paying job. It’s another thing for a spouse to refuse to have a job. If one spouse isn’t working, and it’s up to the other spouse to make financial ends meet, the hardworking spouse could find him or herself experiencing resentment and anger toward the nonworking spouse.
The spouses disagree about spending and saving: If one spouse is a lavish spender and doesn’t want to save a dime for the future, that’s all well and good – but only if the other spouse agrees with this style of spending. If the other spouse is a cost-conscious saver, this pairing may not work.
General financial difficulty: If the monetary difficulty is neither spouse’s fault, but the couple is simply struggling to make financial ends meet, it could put tremendous stress and strain on the relationship. Eventually, the marriage could come to an end.
If you’re ending your marriage because of financial difficulty, make sure you take the time to defend your marital property rights during the divorce process. If, for example, your spouse was a reckless spender who amassed a large amount of credit card debt, the court may take this into consideration when determining your property rights while dividing the marital estate.
