There are a lot of cases in which couples decide to get divorced after their children move out of the house. These couples are often referred to as empty nesters.
The reasons for these divorce cases vary. In many situations, it’s that the couple has drifted apart over the years, but even they might not have realized what it was like because they were so busy being parents. Now that the children don’t live at home anymore, they don’t have to focus on being parents, and so that’s when they realize that divorce is the next step.
Many of these divorce cases end up being amicable. Both people want to get divorced and they are on the same page with this overall goal. They don’t spend as much time fighting over things in court or disagreeing about how the process should go. Why is this?
Perhaps they stayed together for the kids
One reason is that parents sometimes decide to stay together for the kids. They may have realized that their relationship was essentially over 10 years ago, but they decided to put off the divorce until the children went to college. By the time they finally get around to divorce, it doesn’t come as a surprise to either one of them, and that makes it more likely that they’ll be willing to work together simply to get the process done.
They don’t have to divide custody time
Another thing to consider is that empty nesters no longer have children who are minors, so they don’t have to worry about dividing custody time between two parents. They don’t have to pay child support. They don’t have to agree on when to do custody exchanges. They don’t have to set up a parenting plan or have the same sets of rules. These are all things that often lead to a lot of friction in a divorce – and in post-divorce co-parenting relationships – but empty-nesters simply don’t have to think about them at all. They are more focused on the financial side of the split.
Are you considering a divorce?
If you fall into this category and are considering a divorce, there’s still a lot of financial questions to ask, even if things will be relatively amicable. Make sure you fully understand all of your rights.