Divorce isn’t the ultimate endgame when one signs on for marriage, but a growing number of women, who claim to be happily married, are actually preparing for theirs should it occur. According to CBS New York, divorce attorney Jeff Landers is just one lawyer throughout the country offering divorce 101 courses to women, who want to know more about their assets and liabilities “just in case.”
Most of the women that the local news affiliate spoke to said that they have no plans to divorce and that they feel fulfilled in their relationships. Taking the courses is a means to empowerment.
Landers said he started the classes because he saw a need when speaking to his clients about retirement planning, noting that he would ask whether their husbands had a 401k or IRA and many didn’t know the answer.
“It’s not even about divorce, really,” Landers said. “What if your husband dies?”
Good point, but little consolation to men that the news network asked about it. One said that it’s like she is telling him she wants a divorce. Another said that marriage is stressful enough when times are good and everyone is on the same page. This just adds a layer of complication.
To a point, it’s easy to see where the women are coming from. They feel in the dark about their financial situation and the “what if” surrounding divorce or the death of a spouse. But that begs the question: if their marriages were so strong to begin with, couldn’t they just talk to their spouses about bringing them in to financial enlightenment rather than take a course on the subject?
And if not, what is the marital issue holding them back? Answering those two questions could not only alleviate a lot of the headaches associated with divorce 101, it could diagnose issues in their marriages that need to be worked on.
What do you think, readers? Do divorce 101 classes sound like someone has trust issues in their marriage, or are they merely a means of empowerment?