Divorcing a Husband Who Won’t Work: Essential Steps to a Successful Divorce

Divorcing a Husband Who Won’t Work: Essential Steps to a Successful Divorce

Many things hold people back from terminating a marriage that doesn’t feel happy or successful. One of such things is an unemployed partner from whom you want to get a divorce. What should you do in such a situation? Some people face moral suffering as they can’t leave their spouses who can’t support themselves, others want to get a divorce to push them to start working. Below, you’ll find a guide on how to manage an unemployed husband and divorce. Be sure to take these steps to become independent again.

Find out the residence requirements for divorce in your state

Before you start collecting papers for filing, make sure that you meet the eligibility criteria for a divorce in the county and state that you’re living in. In the majority of states, you have to spend a few months living in a county before you can start a divorce procedure there. In some states, this requirement can be met by either partner who is about to get divorced. Usually, the state of your marriage registration doesn’t matter.

Learn the divorce law regarding spousal support

The second action you should take is to find out what support is granted to ex-spouses after a divorce in the state of your residence.

The general principle judges apply when deciding on whether to give alimony to any partner is the level of income in the family, the level of living husband and wife had during the marriage, and their ability of either of them to provide support to the other after a divorce.

Get a legal consultation

Having questions regarding a particular situation during a divorce is not surprising. Therefore, we encourage you to contact legal advisors or lawyers in your area to find the most accurate answers to them.

You don’t have to be filthy rich to get a lawyer: search online for free consultations offered by local non-profit organizations. If you need advice on how to complete divorce forms, you can get it at the local clerk’s office.

Try to settle the spousal support element with your partner

The next step we suggest that you take is finding a compromise with your spouse regarding alimony they can get after a divorce. If you are the main breadwinner in your family while your husband is disabled and unable to work, you can propose a certain amount of money you can pay out to them after a divorce. It can be mentioned in your settlement agreement which is necessary for the uncontested divorce procedure.

On the contrary, if your husband doesn’t want to work but he can, you can offer him certain support only for the time the divorce process is going on or until they get a job. Once they find a source to support themselves, your support will terminate. This can also be written in a settlement agreement that you’ll submit to a judge to get divorced.

Keep in mind that the mentioned principles of granting the support will be applied if you decide to contest it in the courtroom. A judge will take the same things into account and require you to pay the same amounts of alimony for the same periods of time that were mentioned above.

Understand how your financial situations affect kids’ custody

Before you finalize your settlement agreement with your soon-to-be-ex, consider taking the custody of your children into account. If your husband doesn’t work while you do, you’re likely to become the main custodian of your kids. At the same time, your husband will not be exempt from his responsibilities towards your children: the amount of child support he needs to pay will be deducted from his unemployment benefits. Also, it may be changed if he doesn’t work now but is able to in the future: in such a case, a judge will estimate how much money your unemployed husband not looking for work can make and count the amount of child support he will be obliged to pay you.

File for divorce online

After you made the spousal support issue for yourself clear and created a settlement agreement with your husband, proceed to fill out your divorce forms.

You can do it online using the services that offer marriage dissolution form preparation. It will save your time and positive mental state since you won’t stress out due to numerous mistakes that you can make in those documents if you fill them out on your own. Getting your papers done with an online divorce TX service requires just one or two days.

Now that you have your divorce papers ready, you can start the process of divorcing a husband who won’t work. Bring your papers to a local clerk’s office and register them to get a case number. Note anywhere to not lose it as your papers will be addressed by this number from now on.

Follow the court orders

During a divorce procedure, you may be given a few court orders to follow. They regard the way either spouse has to communicate with kids or each other, support each other until the divorce is finalized, etc. Keep in mind that you should comply with all orders given to you regardless of your desire. Failing to follow them may jeopardize your chances of getting the best outcome of your divorce. Also, they can be perceived as disobedience to the court and you will face accountability for that.

Get your divorce decree

The last step every divorce ends up with is getting a document confirming that your marriage has dissolved. Before you receive it, you’ll need to wait a certain period defined by the local divorce laws. Usually, the waiting period for uncontested marriage dissolution lasts for at least a month up to half a year. During this time, we suggest that you switch the focus of your attention to your kids, your wellness, or your job, and stop concentrating on your divorce.

Now that you know how to leave husband with no job, don’t wait any longer and start gathering your documents now. Don’t be afraid of difficulties since you have the knowledge to go through this process with ease. Every time you need advice, feel free to ask for it. Go ahead to a single life full of new opportunities!