"Women fight over the children, men fight over the money, everything else is just narrative."
Money and divorce. The third in a series of guest posts from Holly Bell
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The third in a series of guest posts from Holly Bell.
In case you missed them, you can read part one here:
And part two here:
Over to Holly…
Hidden Funds
He cheated on me throughout the marriage. I knew all along, and it hurt, of course, but I always knew it was booze related. He had a bad relationship with alcohol and seemed to become a different person when he drank. I could forgive him all the cheating. The thing that really broke my heart was that once we started the divorce process, he seemed to want to cut me and the kids off entirely.
He wanted everything. The house, our rental properties, my savings (not much, admittedly), he started to pay himself minimum wage from his company so his child maintenance was almost nothing. He wanted receipts for anything I needed for the kids. I just couldn’t believe my previously very generous husband who was always the one to get in the first round of drinks, wanted me and the kids to be homeless. I don’t think I’ll ever get over the meanness I witnessed. Estelle, 39.
I’m sorry to tell you that once solicitors are involved in a divorce it usually gets a bit fighty, especially over money. One solicitor I saw told me ‘women fight over the children, men fight over the money, everything else is just narrative’.