Divorced? Separated? Would you ever consider getting married again?
Statistics suggest that more second marriages fail than first marriages.
Despite this, many divorced or widowed men and women do remarry, complicating their financial affairs and creating a fluid network of step-relatives, all with their own sets of financial expectations.
As couples get older and their lives more complicated, more of those entering new relationships seem to be choosing to postpone or forgo such formal arrangements for fear of these financial consequences.
And second-time-around Canadians are much more inclined to talk about marriage contracts or prenuptial agreements than they once were.
Are you one of them? Do you know someone who is?
By the time people enter a second or even third marriage they often have substantial assets — sometimes one more than the other. And planning for all the various contingencies can get messy.
Blended families often have to care for several children and more than one household, for instance. And past spouses and partners never really go away, it seems.
But, while deciding who pays which bills and whose health insurance policies to keep can be tricky, there’s a bigger worry for couples bringing together assets and children from a previous relationship – the uneasy sense that someone may get screwed in the process.
And that's not the half of it, says author Adryenn Ashley in her book Every Single Girl's Guide to Her Future Husband's Last Divorce.
Even though you and your future partner may be madly in love, that past divorce could really affect your financial future. Whether it's the amount of child support he's supposed to pay every month or the way assets were split, you have the right to know the details, she maintains.
With at least one relationship behind you, do you worry about such financial concerns? How have you protected your family?By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: Marisa Love | Feb 3, 2013 3:32:36 PM
I inherited my husband's and his ex-wife's bad credit because they never officially dealt with the debts they jointly held. The debts went to collection agencies, ruined his credit and we jointly had to eventually get into a consumer proposal. I had to sign on and take their debt. She gets $550 in child support for one child and her debts are cleared now. Oh, and by the way, SHE is the one who committed adultery while he was deployed with the military. I wish I had got him to do a credit check before marrying him.
Posted by: Ken 9 | Feb 3, 2013 9:08:02 PM
I wouldn't marry again unless I found a woman who made as much money as I do. I have been paying spousal support for 10 years and still have another decade of child support even though I have 50% custody of the kids. Now that women are in the workforce there is no excuse to give them handouts. It's just another form of welfare...a way for lazy people to get money from hard-working people. My current girlfriend is awesome but relationships can end so I won't marry her unless the laws change or she earns as much as I do.
Posted by: Larissa | Feb 3, 2013 9:32:53 PM
@ Marissa. If your ex-husband can aford to pay $550 per month ($6,600 per year) in child suport for 1 kid he's probaly making a ton of money anyways and can aford it.
@ Ken9. Of course the rules give more money to people who earn les. Isn't that what laws are suposed to do. Thankk God we have governments to equal things out and prevent people from being rich just becuse they have better jobs. Why should someone have more mony just becuse their job is beter?
Posted by: vic Doucet | Feb 4, 2013 2:50:41 PM
In my situation my ex took off with another women just as I was ready to retire. Thanks to our politicans( liberals) she got 50% of my pension and my canada pension(appprox.18000/yr). I never voted again, is this democracie!!!!!
Posted by: Dr. K. Lindon | Feb 5, 2013 4:20:44 AM
@Larissa... are you serious? "Why should someone have more mony(sic) just becuse(sic) their job is beter(sic)? Duh...because their job IS BETTER! Do you expect someone who mops floors for a living should be "entitled" to be as wealthy as a surgeon, or engineer, or lawyer? Would your ideal government force these people to all have the same pay regardless of the skill, education, and financial responsibility required for the job? What have you been smoking? By the way, learn how to spell and maybe then you will get a better job and earn more money. Oh, I forgot, you don't want more money!
Posted by: Nope Jones | Feb 6, 2013 8:10:49 AM
Yes
Posted by: alice | Feb 6, 2013 9:05:50 AM
I've read this article and these comments. All I have to say is I'm astounded by what ppl do to each other in divorce. I've been married for over 2 decades now and I don't have the perfect marriage. However, I can't see myself ever giving it up. When I hear all these stories, my "not-so-perfect" marriage is better than a good divorce. (Do they exist?)
Posted by: Mark | Feb 7, 2013 2:50:08 PM
Larissa is a retard, that said, No I would not enter into marriage ever again. I've been down that road twice and can only say that if not for the fact that the woman I married were not gold diggers and were normal as far as being as understanding of how badly courts handle divorce and it's inpact on the kids we both took a hard look at our situations and cut our losses in both cases. A good divorce? yeah I think they exist
Posted by: T_REX | May 1, 2013 11:29:21 AM
Divorces are what you make them. It is all a choice of bitterness, envy or not. My X has not paid one dime in child support for 3 kids in 6 years. Never once, did I think that after 19 years of marriage, he would do this to us. Maintenance Enforcement has taken away his ability to get a fishing licence, hunting licence, drivers licence or register any property. Does not matter to him and he laughs and says they have no teeth. He drives anyway, fishes in out of the way spots, never did hunt, and puts anything of substance in his girlfriends name. In the end, we make do with what we have. When they are grown, he will try to get back in their lives with a simple "sorry" and it will be up to them if they choose to let him into their lives. I am done. Moved on. Happy.