Posted: Jul 3, 2008, 12:53 PM CST
I was working on a job yesterday when a customer and I engaged in a discussion about divorce..... here is what happened with him....
He was married thirty-five years..... his wife, 51 years old, came to him out of a clear blue sky one day and shattered his life with the "I want a divorce" line, which we all know, or have known someone who has been through it.....
He told me of the "death" he experienced.... with that, I knew exactly where he was coming from....
The dividing of the assets went this way.... House bought originally for $80,000..... sold for $240,000.... the money to be split equally, except that there was one small detail.... she racked up $200,000 of credit card debt which, being a community property state, had to be paid out of the procedes of the house...... that done, they both split the remaining $40,000,....... $20,000 each.
Six months after the divorce was final, she went out and bought a four plex of apartments...... it doesn't take a phi beta cappa to figure out what she had done to accomplish that!
There are ways to shore up ones financial liability in times of "marriage"......... least of which is a power of attorney held by each other as a checks and balance system to make credit checks, and assure that ones lifes savings does not end up in the pocket of another vowed to be there for better or worse...... these days for worse seems to be the overwhelming result of marriage/divorce in general..... be alert at all times to what may not originated as, but could ultimately prove to be, a masterful deceptive charade.......
Incidently for those of you who would condemn a person who ingenuitively used marriage as a stepping stone to financial independence...... I say this..... no rule was broken that is not allowed under the law..... so condemnation is not an option...... understanding the rules of marriage under the law is each persons own responsibility.
While it is a violation of our own moral standards to decieve another, if the law allows it, maybe the focus of our condemnation needs to shift.........
Sometimes, others unfortunate plight, becomes our education......sad as it is, but also true... I hope by this posting, I did not plant the seeds of deception for another such incident, I just felt it necessary to convey this story in the interest of everyones personal safety and well being.........
