Divorce can be a life-altering event, especially when you have been in a long-term marital relationship. It’s therefore not unusual to reflect on other aspects of your life simultaneously and consider making further changes, for example, in your chosen career. One issue that may hold people back, however, is how to cope financially during a career transition.
What you may not know is that short-term or interim spousal maintenance can be a useful way of ensuring financial stability during a divorce whilst a permanent arrangement is being agreed upon. So, what are the pros and cons of using divorce as a springboard to bring about a change of career?
The Pros
- Future financial security – the capability to choose a career that will better suit your newfound role as a single parent, or allow you to earn more money to help make up for the loss of a dual income and support yourself.
- A new purpose or goal in life – something to focus positively on and develop newfound confidence and skills, a new career could provide a welcome distraction from the negative side of divorce.
- Developing independence – if you have been a stay-at-home parent previously, this could be a new lease of life for you and will potentially expand your social circle and skills.
- Positive behaviour – the Court can look positively on a parent or spouse using their initiative and pushing forward to create a better life for their children and themselves.
The Cons
- The potential to lengthen the divorce process – any change in circumstances would need to be reviewed to assess the impact on issues such as child and spousal support. In terms of the custody of children, changing careers could make the situation more complex due to the lack of existing information about working hours.
- Difficulty focusing on new role or training – due to the emotional pressures of ongoing divorce proceedings you might find it too much to deal with at the same time as preparing information for the Courts.
- Reduction in income – if your new role gives you greater job satisfaction but is accompanied by a decrease in salary, it could be perceived by the Court as an attempt to reduce your financial commitment to your ex-spouse or children.
- Marital assets – if you are still married whilst you undertake a shift in career, any bonus or financial incentive you may acquire as a result could be considered a marital asset and split accordingly.
Other considerations
The Courts do take your future earning capacity into consideration when coming to a decision about the division of marital assets, so it is worth bearing that in mind if your new career is likely to be much more lucrative. If it is known that you have undertaken training to become a barrister when you were previously a cashier in a bank, then the Court may take the likely hike in your earnings into consideration. If there are children involved, then you need to ensure that your new career will still enable you to spend time with them and parent effectively, or even whether it will allow you more flexibility in that department.
Conclusion
A good rule of thumb is to try to weigh up the costs and benefits of making a career move by writing them down and discussing them with your support network. Assess the practicalities and whether you can cope with some of the challenges and obstacles posed by taking on two major life events simultaneously before you.