We all hear it too often. Boy meets girl, both fall in love and decides to get married, down the
road someone gets involved with an affair, one party is severely hurt by an affair and pushes for a
divorce. Marriage ends and there goes another point to the board that says "Happy Endings Are Myth"
and along with it paying the high cost of divorce, financially or emotionally.
These days, our society accepts divorce as an unfortunate but accepted reality of married life.
While annulments have been around for centuries, divorces are different. Divorce is a way of ending
a marriage, without the death of a spouse, while a more traditional annulment declared that a
marriage was void from the beginning.
In response to a variety of problems, couples may turn to divorce as a "quick, easy and cheap"
solution to their relationship problems. However, people often jump to this option without realizing
the cost of a divorce, in both emotional and financial terms.
Many couples see divorce as quick and easily handled, but the reality is quite different; some
divorces stretch out for a long time, with the average taking about two years.
Also, while the price of a divorce lawyer ranges widely, most experts would say that the average
lies around $3,000 each for a one-day trial; again, more than many people would expect.
Also, many people about to go through a divorce often underestimate the cost of splitting up that
doesn't appear at first glance. New mortgage payments or rent, a change in car or health insurance,
the cost of a move to a new city or region, and of course child support or alimony, can all make a
divorce a very costly thing to endure financially.
Easily overlooked by many couples is the emotional toll they take from going through a divorce as
well. A messy divorce can conceivably cause later psychological problems and leave people "living in
the past." Unresolved anger is often a result.
One other misunderstanding people often have when they think of divorce is that they misappropriate
the blame, faulting the other person, which leads to feelings of resentment and a victim mentality.
This outlook can easily cause a person to feel helpless and even become clinically depressed.
