Missouri law allows individuals of either gender to receive alimony and a portion of the marital estate. However, although women may be entitled to financial resources from their spouses in a divorce settlement, it doesn’t mean that they won’t experience numerous financial repercussions from ending their marriages.
Finding a job can be difficult
Traditionally, women have stayed at home while their husbands have gone to work. While this may be an adequate arrangement while married, spending years or decades out of the workforce may be problematic. This is because companies generally don’t want to hire people who lack experience. Even if you are able to find a job, it may be challenging to work as many hours as you’d like if you have custody of your children. It’s also worth considering that women make less than men on average, which means that it may be harder to meet your financial goals.
Assets may be outside of the marital estate
If your spouse held a home, business or other assets outside of the marital estate, you may not get a portion of those assets. That may mean that you lose a significant amount of wealth when your marriage comes to an end even if you receive alimony and other resources in a divorce settlement. Assets may be held outside of a marital estate by declaring them as separate property in a prenuptial agreement or by holding them in a trust.
Evaluating your finances will ideally be one of the first steps that you take after you begin the divorce process. This may mean that you create a budget, review a prenuptial agreement or take other actions that can help you retain assets or obtain maximum alimony from your spouse in a settlement.