Reentering the workforce after divorce

1) Help each other with the child care when the other is looking for work. Divorce ends a few of the things you did when you were married, but it doesn’t have to end all of them, especially the ones that benefit the kids. Step up and be the first option, even writing it into the divorce agreement as needed, to be there when the other parent needs child care.

2) Build a safe-harbor provision into your spousal support. Shyster lawyers will tell unemployed people not to get a job until after the divorce to raise the spousal support payments they will receive. The better thing to do is to give people an incentive to work by not taking away every dollar of their spousal support if they do. A safe-harbor provision is something that reduces spousal support by a given amount for every dollar a spouse earns above X amount, so that if the receiving spouse is self-sufficient without the other spouse’s contribution, spousal support can be reduced or eliminated.

3) Search for jobs in your field and pay grade, but be open to all. If you have been searching for a job in your field and you can’t find one after a certain period of time—surely a year but maybe less—you need to find any lawful job you can, even if you find it annoying.

4) Give parenting time to the other parent if you can’t use yours. It makes no sense to have another person raising your children, possibly even paid to do so, if the other parent is readily available. Put this provision in writing if you need to.

5) Agree on whether a third party will provide after-school care to your kids and if so, who. Again, if a parent is available, that’s often the best choice. If not, you should agree in writing on the care provider, his or her location, and who will pay the fees or how they will be shared.