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A terrible, but common, piece of divorce advice

On Behalf of | May 20, 2016 | Divorce |

After a Florida spouse has announced his or her decision to end a marriage, friends and family often gather around to offer their love and support. Some of that care is expressed in the form of unsolicited divorce advice. While this advice is offered with the best of intentions, spouses who listen are at risk of making significant divorce mistakes, some of which can have serious long-term consequences.

One of the most common pieces of advice that divorcing spouses hear is to drag their feet in moving through the divorce process. This is often intended to make the other party “pay” for some transgression, whether real or perceived. However, intentionally slowing the process of moving from married to single does nothing but make matters worse for both parties.

When one spouse acts to delay a divorce, the cost of the process almost always increases. It becomes more difficult to negotiate, and the attorneys for both parties have to spend more time working on moving the process along. If one or both parties are using marital wealth to fund the divorce, which they usually are, then the added expense is only serving to decrease the amount of money that will ultimately be divided between both parties.

There is also an emotional cost to a Florida divorce. When things are dragged on for longer than necessary, more stress and tension is felt by both spouses. This can lead to health issues, as well as trouble moving on to healthy future relationships.

When a friend or family member advises a spouse to drag his or her feet during a divorce, the best course of action is to smile, thank the person for the care and then move on to make decisions that are informed by professional guidance. Acting to intentionally slow the divorce process will not help anyone feel better about the end of a marriage. What can occur, however, is a decline in financial stability that results from added expenses connected to the Florida divorce.

Source: The Huffington Post, “The Worst Divorce Advice .. Ever!“, Karen Covy, May 5, 2016