When two people get married, they build the foundation of their marriage on their dreams and hopes. The excitement of building a new house and moving into your new home with your spouse can be a special feeling. People spend weeks and months collecting their favourite items for their house and each item tends to have a story of its own. You celebrate special occasions, birthdays, anniversaries, and family reunions at your home. Your house becomes a relaxing nest, which is capable of bringing feelings of solace and contentment. So, what happens when you and your spouse decide to divorce? Your home, which was filled with your trips to the memory lane, suddenly ceases to be the same.
Often people move out of their marital home to stop thinking about these memories because it interferes with their healing process. According to UK National Statistics Office, leaving the matrimonial home is a common phenomenon for one or both the partners. Approximately two thirds of the men leave their matrimonial home after divorce or separation. On the other hand, approximately half of the women tend to leave their matrimonial homes following a divorce or separation. Most of the single parents are likely to receive social sector housing and, therefore, they opt for renting a house from this sector. Research indicates that half of the single mothers who have dependent children live in social sector housing. In addition, single mothers are more likely to stay in rented accommodations. However, single fathers tend to be owner-occupiers.
People go through many hardships after moving out of their marital home. Your marital home offers you with familiar surroundings and established social network in your neighbourhood. Looking for a new home could lead to many apprehensions about your new environs. In addition, if you are facing a financial crisis, you need to curb your expenses, which could have a significant impact on the kind of house you will be able to stay in future. Finding a new home is no child’s play. It requires a lot of time, research, and patience. You would not want to move into a new house and figure out any discrepancies at a later point in time. It can be hard to keep your mind focused when you are already dealing with the stress of divorce.
If you have children, then it becomes even more important that you look for a place that is suitable for a child. Your child may be accustomed to a certain lifestyle. While you can depend on the money you receive for child support, if any, you cannot rely on it completely because the amount may not be enough to sustain you and your child. If you want your child to continue in the same school, you will have to choose the same neighbourhood. However, if you are opting for another neighbourhood, then you will have the additional responsibility of looking for an appropriate school for your child. If you have been a non-working mother, things can get a little more complicated for you. You may have to look for a job to support yourself. This can get a little tough when women take a long break from their career.
Supporting yourself would not only include your normal expenses but also rental expenses because you would no longer have your marital home. Therefore, you may not be able to find one job that pays enough, which means that you might have to look for ways of bringing the extra cash by taking up another job. The stress related to your divorce as well as your finances is bound to take a toll on you. Therefore, you must take care of your emotional needs to preserve your sanity. Seek support of friends and family. You can always fix temporary living arrangements with friends or family until you are in a position to find a home for yourself. There would be tough times ahead of you and you would need to be physically fit to be in control. For this reason, do not neglect your health. Your health is the only reliable asset that will carry you through this time of crisis. You are bound to go through an emotional mess around this time. However, it is important to let go of problems that are beyond your control and focus on issues that you can control. When we experience such emotional turmoil, we are bound to take certain decisions in haste. It would be best if you think things through thoroughly before taking any concrete decision related to your finances, children, or new home.
