Are You Leaving Or Did Your Spouse Leave You?

When approaching the divorce process, it is important to keep in mind any biases that you may have which may negatively impact your ability to secure a fair divorce settlement. In particular, nearly every spouse either struggles with either the bias of having left his or her spouse or having been left by his or her spouse.

How can leaving or being left color your divorce process? These biases can color your process in a number of ways. First, it can color which approach you opt to take in resolving your divorce. If you have left, you may be so eager to have the process finished that you fail to fight for property or rights you believe in. If you have been left, you may be so hurt that you opt to fight over issues that do not truly warrant the emotional and financial costs of the fight. These are just two examples of how either being the one who has left or the one who has been left can color your approach to the process.

Similarly, these biases can affect your approach to property division. If leaving has left you feeling guilty, you may be willing to sacrifice much of your property in order to calm your conscience. If you have been left, you may be willing to sacrifice important property just to have the process move along so that you can gain time to heal.

There is no one way to approach either the divorce process or property division. However, it is important to be aware of the biases you may have that could potentially impact your divorce for the better or worse.

Source: The Huffington Post, How Leaving or Being Left Changes the Emotional Aspect of Divorce, Stephanie D. Lewis, Jan. 29, 2015