Tuesday, September 10, 2002

A story released today by the Associated Press reports that multimillion dollar celebrity divorces get the headlines, but every day, hundreds of marriages break up out of the public's eye, with just as much emotional whiplash and financial pain.

"The reality of divorce is that couples generally are forced to maintain two households instead of one on the same amount of income," said Violet P. Woodhouse, a family law specialist in Newport Beach, Calif. "Nobody lives as well. Everybody lowers their standard of living."

Ginita Wall, a financial planner in San Diego, believes that more baby boomer marriages are breaking up because "divorce is socially acceptable, and more women are earning money on their own so they're not so economically dependent."

That doesn't necessarily make it financially easier, even when the divorce is amicable, she added.

"The bottom line in a divorce is to try to have each spouse suffering equally, with the least impact on children," Wall said. "Typically, he says, 'I don't have enough to live on after (paying) alimony and child support,' and she says, 'There he is with half the money, and I have to cover myself and the kids with the other half.' "