Divorce: From Bad to Worse - Divorce gets uglier

[dArKeR]

In tough times, splitting couples fight for pennies

July 21 issue —  Christie and Loren Kersten are divorcing, but after 12 months of brutal wrangling and more than $5,000 in legal fees, they still can’t agree on how to divide their assets. Not that they have much.

THE HOUSE WHERE THEY LIVED in Arlington, Texas, was hers before they married. The bank took their vacation property in Paradise, Texas. That leaves Loren’s 401(k), which swelled to $80,000 during the boom but has now withered to $40,000. Christie says she’s entitled to half. But Loren, an engineer who works for Lockheed Martin, just got rehired after a harrowing nine months of unemployment. To him, that 401(k) isn’t just a retirement fund. It’s a life raft. “I’m not sharing it,” he says. “It’s the only thing I’ve got to fall back on.”
       Lawyers say the War of the Kerstens isn’t all that unusual these days. Around the country, the downturn in the economy has injected an extra dose of venom into the already poisonous process of divorce. Although the actual rate of married couples who have gotten divorced has been nearly flat for the past two years—declining from 4 percent in 2000 to 3.9 percent in 2002—lawyers say lean times are fueling the acrimony associated with untying the knot. In a poll taken by the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers last November, 173 of the 373 respondents said the tough economy was making divorce proceedings more contentious than before, while only 38 saw contentiousness decline.


http://msnbc.com/news/938182.asp?0cv=CB20

[MercutioATC]

1. That's nothing, mine cost $13k cash...

in 1998. That doesn't include the 50% loss of my 401k or the 2 rental properties in Cleveland I lost (don't even ask about the 1k per month alimony).

Bottom line, it's all over and my ex and I get along well now (who'd have thunk it). I'm really surprised that the writer couldn't find a more extreme divorce story to tell. His makes me wish I had it so easy.

[xxqqqzme]

2. the biggest 'disagreement'

my former spouse & I had was over the Cuisinart 'n the Wok!

[TrogL]

5. mine was worse

We nearly went to court over an Emerson Lake and Palmer T-shirt.

I won.

[Gore1FL]

3. i just cut my losses

After every Credit Card was run up for stupid shit, I took the bills, surrendered the house, filed a chapter 13 and will try to get my life back together.

At least I closed the money hemorrhage.

I will never get married again unless I turn really stupid, or have a prenup.

[izzie]

4. I do not know why they say women get every thing

I could not even get my dishes and took 5 years to get to court and he had a new women in the house. I am glad I stuck with it but it was crazy as he even got half my mother's money. I got so mad I went back and took half his pension. He even kept my clothing. So much for long marriage and how they hold up and how much better off you are. I am poor now and never lived better. When I think back it is all sort of funny but with this man at my phone and door every day it was not so funny for a few years. I could not believe I had reached the point of hidding in my bed roon as he yelled swear words at me and said I know you are in their, while his girl friend sat at home.

[DrGonzoLives]

6. All the more reason for married couples

to have financial independence from each other, to an extent. Especially women, and especially women who are primarily stay-at-home during the marriage - divorces can hit them especially hard.

Divorce in this country is absurd. Why should someone be saddled with the bad financial mistakes that the spouse made? It makes no sense, and makes it virtually impossible for that person to get on their feet again. No wonder bankruptcies are on a record pace this year, despite the "reform" shoved through Congress by Bu$h.