Valentine’s Day should be the day of love and romance, roses and chocolate. Right? For some yes, but for divorce lawyers, February is well into the swing of Divorce Season. Studies conducted by AVVO cite to a 40% spike in new divorce filings in the days around Valentine’s Day. Cynically, many point to someone not getting the right gift for Christmas or not enough flowers for Valentine’s Day. Others point to learning that a spouse shared Valentine’s Day with a girlfriend or boyfriend. Since many marriages end because of financial stress, another reason for the rise in divorce could be getting the bills from Christmas in the mail and fighting about how to pay them.

If you are planning for divorce in February, whatever the reason, be sure that you are ready for the reality of divorce. Make sure you have fully considered the very real emotional and financial negatives of divorce. Many women are worse off financially after divorce than they were before – some sinking into poverty level post-divorce. Others are lonely and scared to be alone. Think through what your situation will be after the separation and divorce. How will you pay the bills? Where will you live? Can you afford to keep the house or should you look elsewhere? Do you know what assets exist that are Texas community property subject to division during the divorce? Do you have access to cash to pay for living expenses when the divorce is first filed until a Court can enter temporary orders providing grounds rules for how the bills will be paid? And that doesn’t even begin to cover the issues surrounding finding and hiring a good Texas divorce lawyer to help you through the process.

There may not be answers to each of those questions – they may be ongoing thoughts. But start the process of thinking about them.

Hat tip:

Heartbreak! Divorce filings rise 40 percent around Valentine’s Day: study