I’m a Stay-At-Home Parent. Will Divorce Ruin Me Financially?

 Posted on November 29, 2023 in Divorce

When both spouses going through a divorce have lucrative careers, the financial implications of their divorce may not seem so significant. They have both contributed to their bank accounts and marital assets and both would easily be able to make a case for why they deserve recognition for this in their divorce settlement, in the form of financial arrangements. However, when one spouse works and the other manages household responsibilities, it may be stressful for the latter to consider divorce and all the financial implications it could present. If you are a stay-at-home parent and you worry how divorce would affect your finances, an Arlington Heights, IL divorce attorney can answer your questions and passionately advocate for a divorce settlement you can be satisfied with.

How Does Equitable Division Help a Stay-At-Home Parent?

When a couple first starts dating, they might both have promising careers. They may both have studied and gotten specific degrees to prepare them for their professions and in the years they worked until they met, they may have been able to give everything to their jobs, staying overtime and dedicating themselves to their employers’ success.

For some couples, everything changes the moment they have children. Two working parents with full-time work schedules can find it extremely hard to manage the logistics of household obligations, school drop-offs and pick-ups, kids’ extracurricular activities and sick days, and countless other parts of the reality of raising children.

Some families find that the best way to handle all their needs and responsibilities is to have one parent be responsible for the family’s financial stability by focusing on their career, and the other parent takes on the family responsibilities. When one parent is dedicated to household maintenance, children’s doctor’s appointments, school holiday schedules, the children’s social arrangements (playdates, babysitters, etc.), grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, arranging for professionals to fix things in the home when needed, communication with the child’s teachers, and the countless other aspects of being a stay-at-home parent, this gives the other parent the freedom to be more present at work, prove themselves deserving of promotions and pay raises, and the countless other aspects of investing in one’s career.

On the other hand, the stay-at-home parent is forgoing any career advancement. They may have been working before children came along and taken a temporary break to raise those children, but they might find it hard to re-enter the workforce after such a break. In the years that they remain at home, they will not receive employer-funded payments to their pension plan, they may have lost seniority in their profession, and they may feel less hireable than they had been before this break.

Fortunately, Illinois is an “equitable division” state rather than an “equal division” state. This means that during divorce proceedings, the court will equitably divide the couple’s assets. Rather than splitting everything down the middle, which would be considered equal division, all marital assets will be divided based on the understanding that while one parent contributed a lot more to the finances and assets, the other parent’s actions are what made that possible.

Contact an Arlington Heights, IL, divorce attorney

If you are a stay-at-home parent who feels stuck in an unhappy marriage because of your financial concerns, speaking with an experienced Arlington Heights, IL, divorce lawyer may clear up some of your confusion and give you the answers you need to make the best decision for you. Possible financial issues in the future are not a reason to avoid divorce. There are ways to protect you and get you the best possible settlement. Please call A. Traub & Associates at 847-749-4182 so you can start defending yourself and protecting your best interests.