what to know about divorcing during covid

What To Know About Divorce During The Covid Pandemic

samassini Divorce

At the beginning of this Covid-19 pandemic, many relationship experts pondered about the impact this stressful situation would have on relationships.

Certainly – breakups and divorce were in that conversation.

So, if you ARE going through a divorce while this pandemic is raging or you are contemplating getting divorced, there are some things that you probably should know.

Jennifer Lawrence, a CDC Certified Divorce Coach®, Certified Divorce Specialist®, and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst® professional wrote an article in Divorcemag.com titled “10 Things You Should Know About Divorce During A Pandemic”.

You can read the article by clicking here.

But here is her list of 10 things to know about divorcing during this Covid-19 pandemic.

  1. Your Spouse May Not Be a Problem – the source of your unhappiness may not be your spouse.
  2. Your Spouse May Be a Big Problem – then again, your unhappiness may be due to your spouse.
  3. If You Need the Courts to During During the Pandemic, It’s Going to Be Slow – because family courts are backlogged due to the pandemic – consider mediation or collaborative law.
  4. It’s Harder to Value Market-Based Assets During a Pandemic – typically your assets are valued as of the day you officially separate so be aware of the fluctuating market.
  5. Work Is Less Stable During COVID-19 – you can’t rely on your job during this pandemic so you need to understand alimony and/or support payments may not always be met.
  6. Health Insurance Will Likely Change – make sure to budget for new health insurance coverage.
  7. House Values Are Hard to Estimate for a Divorce During a Pandemic – home valuations are fluctuating depending on if you’re in a city or the suburbs.
  8. Your Kids – Including Young Adults – May Be Home More – if kids or elderly parents are moving in with you due to issues related to the pandemic – this may impact your decision to sell the home and downsize.
  9. You May Need to Renegotiate Parenting Time: Kids May be Home Less – negotiating parenting time is difficult without the added restrictions and uncertainties of a pandemic.
  10. Your Ability to Think Clearly May Be Compromised During COVID-19 – we’re all in a very stressful situation – and most of us make poor decisions when we’re stressed.

Ms. Lawrence goes into more detail of course on each of these issues so make sure to check out her article!