What No One Tells You About Divorce
it's just a piece of paper
I just booked another session with my divorce coach.
I know. I wasn’t expecting that either. I was so excited when our divorce was finalized in November. No more soul crushing legal bills. No more strategy sessions with my coach. Yes, there remained some paperwork, but for the most part, we were finally, blessedly, done.
But that’s when I learned that a marital settlement agreement (MSA) and parenting plan are only pieces of paper. If one of you stops abiding by the agreement, there is really no recourse except to:
plead your case with your ex (leading to the very kind of engagement you hoped to be free from)
go to your lawyer about filing a motion or
give up.
You may have done a thorough job getting those legal documents the way you wanted. But now, you have no way to ensure things go according to that plan unless you are willing to keep paying lawyers.
I should have been more prepared for this. My third Divorce Diaries entry was titled “You Are Never Going Home from This War.” But I didn’t think that would be me.
I didn’t think that would be me. That could summarize everything I’ve been through the last three years.
I never expected we’d get divorced. Never expected we wouldn’t be able to mediate. Never expected that just two months into our official divorced status, we’d already be battling about previous agreed upon split costs despite that well-crafted parenting plan.