Читать книгу Divorce Dollars - Akeela Davis - Страница 11

Sadly, more often than not, couples are not even aware of their personal money motivations, and during the separation and divorce process, these same patterns will come into play.

For instance, if you are a saver and find yourself having to come up with spousal support payments each month, you may not want to support what you see as your spender partner’s extravagant lifestyle. Alternatively, if you are an ultraconservative person, you may feel the need for a large settlement in order to feel secure, and your soon-to-be ex-partner most likely will totally disagree. Or, if your partner is a saver and you are the spender, he or she may be unwilling to split assets, as he or she sees the accumulation as belonging only to him or her. Look at the following example:

Matt and Jane got married right after university. They were married for 22 years. Matt was a good-time guy who loved to take vacations, buy a new vehicle every few years, and eat out. Matt was obviously the spender in the couple. Jane, while she went along with Matt in most things, needed to have some security. She insisted they contribute equal amounts to retirement investments every year. Matt invested all his money in technology stocks in 1999. Jane had a conservative, balanced portfolio.

The major asset to be split during their divorce was their retirement investments. As a result of the prolonged market downturn, Jane’s investment was worth considerably more than Matt’s.

Jane was adamant that she should not have to split her funds with Matt. She contended that since they invested the same amounts, but his reckless behavior caused his losses, she did not have to compensate him. She lost a costly fight, and the bitterness that resulted from that conflict poisoned all their subsequent dealings.

In many cases, a divorcing couple will need the assistance of a third party professional to reach a settlement that is truly acceptable to them both.