• 14
  • October
    2011

Here is some news Denver residents might find interesting. Some divorce experts say that divorce is harder on women than it is on men -- not necessarily on an emotional or physical level, but on a financial level.

Divorce experts note that many women lack even basic money management skills. This is not because women are not intelligent or are not independent. Rather, it is because in the division of labor, it is often the male half of a couple who handles the finances and the wife never gets the hands-on experience one needs to become financially literate. This becomes a problem when a couple splits up. If the former husband has always held the purse strings, the former wife may not know how to do necessary things like file taxes, apply for a mortgage, locate an advantageous car loan, etc.

This is especially a concern nowadays since the economy is so crummy and money is tight for everyone. When a person's budget is lean, there simply is not room even for inexpensive mistakes. Also, the pool of marital assets may have been diminished by the poor economy, so women may start out with less than they need and may not have the necessary experience to start building wealth up again.

If you are a woman and you are thinking about divorce, ask your family law attorney if he or she has a financial professional he or she can recommend. Another option is to look into whether there are financial literacy classes at your local library or community center. How you will manage your finances after you divorce is definitely something you should think about, but there is no reason it needs to be too much of a roadblock.

Source: Reuters, "Divorce stress meets recession mess, and women struggle" Lou Carlozo, Oct. 14, 2011